BDF recovers croc victim�s body
Boniface Keakabetse | Thursday December 1, 2016 16:36
Officer commanding district No.5 Peter Gochela said Botswana Defence Force scuba divers and Botswana Police officers retrieved the boy’s body after a three-day search. Gochela explained that the boy was enjoying an afternoon swim on Wednesday last week with other boys at a spot popular commonly known as ‘the beach’ by fun lovers.
He said the friends reported that they were scared by a crocodile and ran for safety only to discover that their mate was missing once they reached the river bank. “We are still not certain whether he drowned or was snatched by the crocodile. Our preliminary suspicions are however that he was snatched by a crocodile,” Gochela said.
Gochela said they are still awaiting a post-mortem report to clarify the boy’s cause of death.
Superintendent Gochela however sent a stern warning to members of the public to refrain from swimming in the river, as it is infested with crocodiles. “Crocodile and hippo attacks are very common in this area.
I do not have statistics now, but these cases are common.” He said it is a source of concern as the crocodile attacked at a place where fun lovers like to swim. He said crocodiles are dangerous when the river begins to dry up as they face food shortages.
The salt water crocodiles, which are found in the Delta and rivers, are some of the largest living reptiles in the world. They are ferocious and opportunistic predators that are also some of the deadliest killers in the Delta.