It is not an April Fool: the Spanish authorities are looking for a specimen of crocodile that would weigh more than 250 kilos. The creature was spotted by three different people this weekend in the Pesquerela area, near Valladolid. Experts say it is a Nile crocodile, a species considered to be "very aggressive" and calls for maximum caution when encountering the animal. The search has mobilized more than 10 people and drones, but so far has yielded nothing. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the Nile crocodile in the Douro.
A "very aggressive" Nile crocodile sought in the waters of the Douro River
The Nature Protection Service of the Spanish Civil Guard (Seprona) launched this Sunday a search for a crocodile weighing around 250 kilos. The latter was spotted on the section of the Douro River between Simancas and Tordesillas.
Experts believe it is a Nile crocodile, a species considered "very aggressive", having been detected by three different people between Friday and Saturday in the Pesquerela region, near Valladolid.
Research by authorities and biologists started last Sunday and count on 10 people and the support of drones, which have already discovered two nests in this area located at the mouth of Pisuerga, in the Douro, very popular with fishermen, canoeists and bathers.
— Ayuntamiento de Tordesillas (@TordesillasAyto) June 6, 2020
Crocodile nests have already been analyzed, as have remains of fish with bites identified as those of a Nile crocodile.
Two boys, around 13, were the first to spot the animal and informed the Simancas police on Friday, according to the newspaper El País. An officer went to the indicated area the next day and confirmed the youth's report, even asking some fishermen to leave the area, but did not explain the reason for the request in order to avoid causing panic.
The area has since been isolated by the Spanish authorities, who have also installed traps in nests and in water in an attempt to capture the reptile, and will be traveled "with caution", given the possible intervention of the group Civil Guard and firefighter underwater activities.
