Crocodiles on the loose in Limpopo

Polokwane - About 15 000 crocodiles escaped from the Rakwena crocodile farm near Pontdrif after the Limpopo River came down in flood on Sunday evening.

Zane Langman, the son-in-law of the crocodile farm’s owner, said a couple of thousand had been recaptured in the dense bush next to the river, but more than half were still missing, reported Beeld.

They were forced to open the crocodile farm's gates, out of fear that the force of the water would crush walls.

“There used to be only a few crocodiles in the Limpopo River. Now there are a lot,” said Langman.

“We go to catch them as soon as farmers call us to inform us about crocodiles.”

Crocodile catching was apparently easier at night as their eyes shone red in the dark.

Homes on the farm and surrounding area had been evacuated and possessions carried out as water flooded the region.

Langman told how he went to rescue friends in a flooded house in the area by boat on Sunday.

“You want to get them but you wonder the whole time if you’ll make it there. When we reached them, the crocodiles were swimming around them. Praise the Lord, they were all alive.”

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