Half tonne ‘demon’ crocodile is captured and BEHEADED by locals ‘so it won’t come back to haunt them’ in Indonesia
- A 14-ft long ‘demon’ crocodile was beheaded by locals in Indonesia last week
- The crocodile weighed 500kg and had to be carried by bulldozer to be buried
- It had no teeth but reportedly attacked several people before it was killed
A 14-foot long ‘demon’ crocodile was hunted and beheaded by superstitions villagers in Indonesia last week, after terrorising locals.
The 50-year-old reptile was hunted down by villagers after it reportedly attacked several people.
It was trapped in nets laced with razor-sharp blades in the Kayubesi River on Monday evening by villagers in Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia.
Locals insisted on burying the body and the head separately so it would not come back to haunt them as they believed it was an evil spirit.
After two days in captivity, the crocodile died from exhaustion.
The half-tonne beast was so large, it had to be carried to a burial site on a bulldozer.
Locals refused to hand the 500kg body over to conservationists as they believed the neighbourhood would be doomed if the crocodile was transferred elsewhere.
Septian Garo, head of the local conservation agency, Bangka Belitung Natural
The crocodile hunters struggled to lift the giant beast so they used a bulldozer to carry it from the river to a field where it was buried
Locals insisted on burying the body and the head separately so it would not come back to haunt them as they believed it was an evil spirit
Resources Conservation Agency said that officials tried to negotiate with the local leaders over the wild animal’s relocation to a safer place.
However, superstitious locals insisted they keep the animal for religious reasons.
‘There was a belief that the crocodile should not be removed from the village because it is a demon,’ he said.
‘They [referred to] local beliefs that hampered the [animal’s] relocation.
Septian explained that, by local tradition, the entire neighbourhood would be doomed if the crocodile was transferred elsewhere.
He added that similar incident had occurred in 2016, when residents refused to allow the agency to rescue a crocodile from their village.
Before the burial, authorities inspected the body and found that the crocodile, which they estimated to be 50 years old, had no teeth.
It was trapped in nets laced with razor-sharp blades in the Kayubesi River on Monday evening by villagers in Bangka Belitung Islands, Indonesia
The crocodile hunters struggled to lift the giant beast so they used a bulldozer to carry it from the river to a field where it was buried.
Locals then sawed off the dead crocodile’s head ‘so the demon will not come back to life and haunt them.’
Village official Junaidi said: ‘The body and head must be buried separately because this is a demon crocodile. Before cutting it off, there is also a special ritual.’
The giant crocodile was buried after the villagers participated in the ritual.
The reptile was over 14 feet long and weighed half a tonne.