2024-08-07 15:33:38
The crocodile from the capital’s “Botunets” district is still in the pit 100 meters from the apartment block, which has been his home for weeks. There was tension with the police as the people keeping the reptile did not allow the Metropolitan Zoo staff to take it away.
The large predatory reptile has been kept in a pit of water for weeks and is tied up so that it cannot escape. People from Botunets complained to the capital eco-inspection a few weeks ago, but the team came to the site only today, after a signal from the mayor of Kremikovtsi.
Last week, Daniela was coming home from the store and saw with her own eyes the crocodile that Botunets had been talking about for about a month.
“I was about to cross and the crocodile was very close to where the people are – to the sidewalk. So from here to the entrance – apparently I was at the speed of a fighter jet. Opposite two grandmothers were sitting at the entrance and said that a signal had been given. Before that, other people they sounded a signal,” explained the woman.
“In fact, we have a legal deadline for reacting to the signals and we have complied with it at this moment,” pointed out Radoslava Stoyanova, who is a senior expert at RIOSV-Sofia.
Coincidentally or not, the eco-inspection arrived on the spot hours after the mayor of Kremikovtsi reported the crocodile. She saw it by chance while investigating a complaint about illegal construction and logging.
The crocodile was found 2-3 weeks ago at a tip-off location. At that date, the property was enclosed – there was a fence. It’s not like now. It is now absolutely unmanaged and the fence has been removed and the crocodile lives like this. There are suspicions that the crocodile is not the property of the person posing as its owner and that it was stolen during the pandemic.
Viktor Mihailov, who is the owner of the animal, explained that he is a circus organizer. “We’ve been looking at it here for a month and a half. Do I have documents? Well, you can ask the people from RISV if I have documents,” he commented.
“We want documents for the ownership of the land and for the ownership of the animal itself, as the documents presented to us are not sufficient.”
The municipality and the man are also arguing about the ownership of the land on which the pit was dug. According to experts, the conditions in which the Nile crocodile is raised are poor.
“Neither the reservoir in which it is kept meets the requirements, nor the area, nor is it secured. The animal must be restricted in some other way from leaving the area, but not by tying it up,” said Georgi Krastev from the Metropolitan Zoo.
“There is a hole dug inside and a pool. What should be suitable for a crocodile – it wants water,” Viktor Mihailov told BNT.
The crocodile will live in the capital zoo until it is established who its owner is and whether there are suitable conditions for its cultivation.
Tonight, the reptile will stay in “Botunets” and at night, tomorrow, its chip will be checked and whether it meets the documents. This was explained by the representatives of the Regional Environment and Water Inspection (RIOSV)-Sofia, who are at the place where the animal is.
We decided to postpone it until tomorrow, so that there is no current madhouse, the animal’s chip must be seen to see if it corresponds to the documents, the experts from RIOSV pointed out. There will be no police at night. The crocodile will be moved from the place where it is to a safer place, where it can last until tomorrow, until the inspectors come, writes BTA.