Sungai Batu Pahat, Johor Suitable As Crocodile Habitat

JOHOR BAHRU (Johor, Malaysia) Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Sungai Batu Pahat in the district of Batu Pahat is said to be among the rivers in Johor that are suitable as crocodile habitats. State Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman, Dr Sahruddin Jamal said the monitoring done last year found that at least 60 crocodiles had made these rivers their habitats. “The existence of crocodiles in Sungai Batu Pahat indicates the healthy state of the river’s ecosystem,” he said when contacted on a 35-second video recording of a crocodile in Sungai Batu Pahat that went viral on the social media Tuesday. Dr Sahruddin said according to the Johor Department of Wildlife and National Parks records, so far it had not received any complaints on crocodile attacks or a conflict between crocodiles and humans in the area. However, he said, the relevant authorities would always be monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, the Batu Pahat District Fishermen’s Association regards the presence of crocodiles in Sungai Batu Pahat as not something unusual as its members had reported seeing crocodiles in the river. The association’s board member, ​​​​​​​Shukor Jaffar said different crocodile species such as the one viralled since yesterday had indeed made Sungai Batu Pahat and other rivers in the vicinity such as Sungai Simpang Kiri in Parit Sulong and Sungai Simpang Kanan in Bindu as their habitats. He said to date, there had been no mishaps or loss of lives involving fishermen who came across the reptile. “However, the crocodile viralled (on the social media) is said to be rather big compared to the ones spotted by our fishermen, with its length estimated to be five metres,” said Shukor, who advised fishermen to be wary of the crocodiles. Batu Pahat district police deputy chief, ​​​​​​​Supt Razali Mohd Tahir, when contacted, said they had not received any report on crocodile sighting and he too advised the public to be careful, so as to avoid any untoward incident. -- BERNAMA