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Ushar Daniele

For regular anglers in the Malaysian coastal town of Port Dickson, the sighting of a crocodile in the waters while they fish by the jetties is nothing new.
“I have seen three crocodiles while fishing there,” Razman Fozi, 33, said.
The beach holiday destination in Negeri Sembilan state has long been a preferred fishing spot for hobbyists, but increasingly frequent crocodile sightings in its waters have raised concerns about the risks to local communities.
Razman, who has been fishing in the area for over two years, said that while many of his fellow anglers were aware of the reptiles’ existence, it had not stopped them. “I’ve never seen any crocodile bother the anglers,” he said.
But not everybody has been as fortunate.

On May 25, a 62-year-old fisherman survived a crocodile attack while fishing alone at a jetty near Port Dickson.
Police said the crocodile seized his left leg at about 4am and dragged him into the river, but he clung to a large rock until he managed to break free. He then climbed back onto the riverbank and sought help from family members, who took him to Port Dickson Hospital.
The attack left him with a broken left ankle, a fractured toe and multiple cuts to both legs, and he required surgery. His adopted daughter said he was in a stable condition but had been traumatised by the attack.
Close encounters
Crocodile encounters are not new in Malaysia. The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) reported the capture of 334 crocodiles in Peninsular Malaysia since 2024: 130 in 2024, 169 in 2025 and 35 as of May this year, according to The Star on July 3.
While some see the rising numbers as evidence of a growing crocodile threat, experts say they point to a larger problem: humans are encroaching rivers, wetlands and coastal areas where crocodiles live, while public safety measures remain focused largely on sightings, captures and relocation.
Under the Wildlife Conservation Act, Perhilitan’s jurisdiction applies in Peninsular Malaysia, while the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak have their own enactments.
In the peninsula, crocodiles have been sighted in areas such as the Rembau-Linggi River, the Setiu-Chalok-Bari Basin, the Johor River and the coasts of Penang and Perak.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation data in 2025 showed an estimated crocodile population of 25,000. Many are found across the state’s 4,500km (2,900 miles) of river systems and 40 river basins, such as Batang Lupar, Baram, and the Sungai Tatau estuary.
Research by Universiti Putra Malaysia showed that between 2001 and 2020, a total of 205 attacks were reported in Sabah and Sarawak. Sarawak recorded 135 cases, nearly twice Sabah’s 70.
The large numbers of captures or sightings, however, do not mean that the crocodile population is increasing, according to experts.
“That is a very common assumption by the general public, and we need to understand why this is happening,” said Sai Kerisha Kntayya, a crocodile conservation officer at Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah.
Several factors are driving increased human-wildlife conflict, including dwindling natural habitats and prey sources, which lead crocodiles to leave their original habitats in search of rivers that can provide these resources, according to Kntayya. Development such as plantations has shrunk these habitats, leading to more human-animal encounters.
“This is why we are seeing a lot more crocodiles in places we have never seen before, and the number is increasing because people are making more and more reports,” she said.
Urban legend
WWF Malaysia told This Week in Asia the country’s rivers, wetlands and floodplains are facing increasing pressure from rapid urbanisation, infrastructure development, agriculture and expanding human settlements.
Unplanned development within these areas increased flood risks, degraded ecosystems, and reduced the effectiveness of structural flood mitigation measures, the wildlife and environmental conservation body said.
“Disruptions to the ecosystem will affect wildlife. They may have limited food resources and less suitable habitat to feed and breed, thus increasing the likelihood of coming into conflict with humans,” it said in a statement.
The encounters are not only in rural areas. The sighting of a crocodile near popular shopping centres Mid Valley and KL Eco City in the capital Kuala Lumpur last February sent social media into a frenzy.




View on Threads



More recent social media clips show a crocodile eating what is believed to be a dog on Monday night on Tanjung Gemuk Beach in Port Dickson and a five-metre animal being captured in Sungai Tatau, Sarawak, on Wednesday.
Riverside activity could also make people more vulnerable to attacks, Kntayya said, as they often placed humans in direct contact with the water and within reach of crocodiles.
While authorities such as the wildlife department had been proactive in capturing and reducing the risk of crocodile attacks, public awareness was crucial to avoiding casualties from such encounters, she said.
“For example, when fishing in the river, communities can cast their nets from the boats and do not need to be in the water to avoid direct contact with the crocodiles.”
Crocodiles captured outside their natural habitats would be relocated back into the wild or to Paya Indah Wetlands in Selangor, Perhilitan said in the July 3 The Star report.
“It is important for people to understand that crocodiles are part of our natural habitat and there is no way we can eliminate the population of crocodiles. It’s impossible.”


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This Week in Asia

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Over 300 have been captured in Peninsular Malaysia since 2024, and experts warn more could follow as humans encroach into crocodile habitats


Over 300 have been captured in Peninsular Malaysia since 2024, and experts warn more could follow as humans encroach into crocodile habitats.


Animals

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation

Malaysia reaches snapping point as crocodile encounters rise

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Over 300 have been captured in Peninsular Malaysia since 2024, and experts warn more could follow as humans encroach into crocodile habitats

Over 300 have been captured in Peninsular Malaysia since 2024, and experts warn more could follow as humans encroach into crocodile habitats