Croc still free after evading hunter's harpoon

Yuen Long's celebrity reptile gave Australian crocodile expert John Lever the slip for a second night in a row as a bumper crowd of around 1,000 looked on yesterday.

Mr Lever got to within a few metres of the crocodile, launched a harpoon at it - but missed, sending the frightened reptile scuttling off into the murky waters of the Kam Tin and San Pui rivers.

There was a festive atmosphere as young and old watched Mr Lever, 61, come close to success, but they left disappointed. The crocodile catcher said he would resume the hunt at 4am today.

Sightings of the reptile throughout the day had bred an air of expectation as the time for the hunt approached. Mr Lever, escorted by government officials, headed out into the water about 5pm.

'The idea tonight is to try to harpoon the croc and then bring it to the boat,'' he said, showing little enthusiasm for leaping into the polluted waters in pursuit.

Mr Lever again expressed his confidence that the croc could be caught. That confidence was almost rewarded when, about an hour into his search, the crowd began cheering as he launched his handmade harpoon at the reptile.

The jubilation was short-lived, however, as it became apparent the attempt was unsuccessful.

'Tonight I'm a little bit disappointed,' a tired Mr Lever said.

'We were about four to five metres away and I thought he was going under the water so I threw the harpoon at it, but I missed.'

He added: 'I'm prepared to stay for a week to get this croc.'

Anderson Shakoor, from Yuen Long, who has showed up daily for 10 days, said: 'Some people are getting a bit impatient, but I think this is a game of patience. Mr Lever has only been here three days.''

The crocodile was spotted at low tide yesterday morning swimming towards the western end of its established range before disappearing under the surface just before Mr Lever arrived to check his baits. It was unlikely to move from the area, as the grass on the water's edge provided it with cover, he said.

'The croc has been in the water all night,' he said after an inspection of the banks revealed no fresh tracks. 'He stays in the water because the grass is too far from the shoreline at low tide.'

There was no shortage of food for the animal, as there were plenty of dead fish floating around. Mr Lever attributed that to pollution which had kept oxygen levels too low to support larger animals.

'This water is like soup. Not short soup, more like shark's fin - very thick and very gelatinous.'

Having had no luck with the baits, Mr Lever shifted operations to a car services garage in Yuen Long, where he set to work fashioning a smaller harpoon head than the one he brought with him from Australia. 'Smaller crocs have much finer skin, so we don't want it to go in too far, or to come straight back out again,' he said.

Editorial - Page 10