Rescue workers attempting to capture a fugitive crocodile in Nahya town in Giza, November 4, 2015 (Photo: Giza Zoo Facebook page)
Egypt's environment minister has said around three fugitive crocodiles have been located in a roadside canal in the Cairo suburb of Matariya, while locals allege a larger number of the reptiles have been seen on the run.
Minister Khaled Fahmy said late Wednesday more than one crocodile has been pinpointed, including a 30 centimetre-long one, stopping short of providing an exact count.
"What we have pinpointed is more than one. There could be two or three," Fahmy said in TV comments aired by privately-owned satellite channel Dream TV.
One of the locals who has filed a complaint to the government alleged "five or six" of the reptiles have been seen at the Ismailiya Canal, terrifying residents of the area.
"They have appeared and we've seen them. Everyone is terrified," Mohamed said in TV comments Wednesday.
He claims the fugitive crocodiles measure up to 1.5-2 metres long.
The minister said special workers are currently surveying segments of the canal to capture the animals.
He said the crocodiles are likely to either have been thrown there by locals who raise them at home but later get rid of them when they get bigger, or they escaped enclosures in farms that keep them to utilise their skins as leather.
After being captured, the crocodiles are often sent to the Giza Zoo.
Several similar incidents have occurred in recent months. In November, a crocodile measuring 90 centimetres was captured in the sewage system in Nahya village in Giza, south of Cairo. It is now kept at the zoo.
Another crocodile was captured in a sewege system in Beni Suef in December.
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