Six years later, the crocodile with the tire around its neck is finally rescued

In 2016, people found this crocodile with an abandoned motorcycle tire around its neck. For six years, it was unable to break free from the tire and could suffocate to death at any time.

A crocodile trapped in a tire | Mohammad Taufan / AP

Fortunately, just last week, the crocodile was finally rescued.

Rescue the crocodiles

It is a wild female crocodile living in Palu, Indonesia. In 2016, residents accidentally saw it with a tire on it by the river and expressed sympathy. Many animal protectors and biologists have tried to rescue it, and the government has proposed to award a bonus to those who can remove the tire, but all attempts have ended in failure - it is not easy to catch the ferocious crocodile and remove the tire safely.

It is often seen at the mouth of the river | Mohammad Taufan / AP

The crocodile became a local celebrity, and people often saw it swimming around the nearby estuary. As it grew larger, the tire became tighter, and helping it remove the tire became an urgent matter. However, just getting close to a 4.5-meter crocodile is terrifying, let alone catching it. After many failed attempts, this became an extreme task that no one dared to challenge.

But recently, things have taken a turn for the better. Tili, a 35-year-old bird catcher, moved to the city and heard the story of the crocodile from his neighbors. Seeing it basking in the sun leisurely by the river, Tili decided to save it.

"I have extensive experience capturing animals, not just birds but also farm animals released from cages. I believe my skills can help save crocodiles," Tilly said.

Tilly wanted to find some helpers, but everyone was afraid of beasts like crocodiles, so he had to work alone. The first step to rescue the crocodile was to catch it. Tilly designed a trap, tied ropes of various lengths to trees by the river, and put live chickens and ducks as bait. For three weeks, he tracked the crocodile and almost caught it twice.

Finally, late last Monday night, the crocodile fell into the trap! With the help of two friends, Tilly dragged the trapped crocodile to shore and sawed off the tire that had been around its neck for at least six years.

The alligator was successfully caught | Inside Edition / YouTube

Tilly and the tire cut from an alligator's head | Inside Edition / YouTube

They then contacted firefighters and wildlife conservation agencies, hoping to get help and release the crocodile back into the wild.

Crocodiles aren’t the only ones trapped by man-made artifacts

How did an abandoned motorcycle tire end up on the crocodile's neck?

Haruna Hamma, head of the local animal protection agency, believes that it is likely that someone deliberately wanted to use the tire to circle the crocodile and then take it away as a pet or peel off its skin to sell; but their plan failed and the tire remained on the crocodile's neck forever. It may also be because of garbage - crocodiles often swim to some garbage-filled waters, where there may be discarded tires, and people have not taken any measures to prevent crocodiles from being covered by tires.

This crocodile is not the only animal trapped by a tire. In 2019, a bull elk was found walking in the mountains in Colorado, USA, with a tire around its neck. Animal protectors tried to rescue it many times, but all failed.

In 2019, staff found a bull elk with a tire for the first time | CPW NE Region

By 2021, the elk was already 4 and a half years old and weighed 270 kilograms, but it still had a tire around its neck. When they found it again, the staff finally managed to inject it with a sedative. They wanted to cut off the tire, but found that the steel in the tire could not be cut, so they had to choose to cut off the antlers and take out the tire. Fortunately, the antlers of the bull elk fall off every year and grow new ones, which will not cause permanent damage to it.

Sedated elk | CPW NE Region

Workers carefully cut a tire | CPW NE Region

Fortunately, after two years of friction with the tire, the bull elk's neck is still in good condition, with only some hair rubbed off and a coin-sized wound left. The tire on its neck will undoubtedly make it more conspicuous among its peers, but its life does not seem to have been greatly affected, and it is still a healthy and strong bull elk.

However, more wild animals trapped by human products are not as lucky as crocodiles and elk. Wildlife workers say they have seen moose, bears and other wild animals entangled in many different objects, including swings, hammocks, clotheslines, furniture, laundry baskets, volleyball nets... Crocodiles and elk were found and rescued, but in places visible and invisible to humans, there are thousands of animals trapped by objects left behind by humans and are likely to die as a result.

Countless animals die from eating human waste | Tharmapalan Tilaxan / Wikimedia Commons

The wheel of humanity never stops. We only hope that in the habitats of wild animals there will be fewer human accessories, so that when animals run freely, they will not encounter discarded tires, used plastic bags, and empty cans.

References

[1]Indonesia frees crocodile from tire on its neck for 6 years - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

[2]Indonesia crocodile freed from tire stuck around her neck for six years (thedenverchannel.com)

[3]Indonesian crocodile finally freed from motorbike tire stuck around its neck for 6 years | Live Science

[4]Elk with tire stuck around its neck for years finally freed - CNET

[5]Elk with car tire stuck around its neck for two years is free at last | Animals | The Guardian

Author: White Stork on the Shore

Editor: Mai Mai

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

If you need to reprint, please contact [email protected]