Crocodile Escapes Zoo, Caught on the Streets of Qatif Region in Saudi Arabia
A large crocodile was spotted roaming a motorway in Saudi Arabia, according to a social media video.
The reptile, believed to have escaped from an animal park, is seen in the video crawling amid cars on the road purportedly in Al Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, news website Almarsd reported.
As the crocodile made its way to the other side of the road, some motorists were careful enough to avoid hitting it. Eventually, the repetile is seen being dragged by a rope handled by an anonymous person.
The authenticity of the video could not be verified. Saudi authorities made no comment. The environment system in Saudi Arabia bans dealing with endangered animals, including keeping and displaying them.
Violations are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of SR30 million. In recent months, incidents involving wild animals have been reported in the kingdom. In May, the Saudi environmental police said they had restrained a lion found on the loose in the capital, Riyadh.
The Special Forces for Environmental Security (SFES) said the beast, located in a Riyadh district, had been brought under control and handed over to a specialist agency.
Earlier that month, Saudi security agencies and wildlife inspectors raided an establishment illegally keeping and displaying beasts.
The Saudi National Centre for Wildlife (NCW) said at the time the facility had been uncovered in the Asir region of south-western Saudi Arabia, rearing and displaying wild animals, including a lion and a tiger. Last March, NCW said security agencies in the kingdom had seized a cheetah, a wolf, and a large snake in the possession of a citizen.
Also in March, Saudi authorities said they had taken control of a fox spotted in a residential area in the east of the kingdom. After checking its health and feeding it, the animal was released into its natural habitat to preserve environmental balance.
In 2021, Saudi authorities warned against the illegal rearing of predators after a lion mauled its keeper to death in Riyadh. The illegal purchase of wild animals is believed to have thrived due to social media, where they are marketed.
