MATARA, Sri Lanka — Flying birds, running squirrels, hopping hares and snakes are species that frequent the tea estates in Akuressa in southern Sri Lanka. But an unusual heavy rustling and crawling sound of an animal disturbed a woman plucking tea, who let out a loud scream as she realized it was a giant crocodile next to her. She ran toward others, and the villagers caught this 15-foot-long giant after a difficult and risky operation. Tea plantations are not considered the habitat of saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus), but there was severe rain in the area and the nearby Nilwala River began to flood. The crocodile likely reached the edge of the flooded area and got trapped in the tea plot as the flooding receded, said Priyanath Sanjeewa, a Matara district wildlife ranger. The tea estate incident happened during the 2017 floods, but similar incidents where crocodiles ended up in areas that humans inhabit remain a common occurrence when the Nilwala River floods. The river also accounts for the country’s worst human-crocodile conflict, Sanjeewa said. In 2016, when the river flooding intensified, one of the largest Nilwala River crocs moved to the edge of a nearby village named Weraduwa. “On a number of occasions, crocodiles were found trapped inside buildings or home gardens as the water receded. So, we make it a point to warn people who leave their homes temporarily due to flooding to be wary once they return home, as there could be lurking danger, the wildlife ranger said.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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