A crocodile that escaped a mass culling at a former crocodile farm in the Jordan Valley last week was shot dead Thursday by Nature and Parks Authority inspectors, the agency said on Saturday.
The shooting was approved by the Civil Administration, the Israeli defense body overseeing civilian affairs in parts of the West Bank, in order to protect visitors at the site in the settlement of Petza’el, where the country’s largest crocodile farm once operated.
The Petza’el crocodile farm, 2023
(Video: Let the Animals Live)
Earlier this month, more than 200 crocodiles were culled at the site after video footage emerged showing youths entering the defunct facility and throwing stones at the remaining reptiles. The Civil Administration determined that the animals posed a public safety risk and ordered the culling.
According to the Nature and Parks Authority, inspectors recently spotted crocodile tracks leading to a hiding place on the property. They later found the crocodile’s carcass with a gunshot wound to the head. The hiding spot had been set on fire, apparently to drive the animal out. A subsequent investigation found that inspectors had tracked and shot the crocodile during a routine patrol.
Avihu Sherwood, of the wildlife advocacy group For the Wildlife, arrived at the scene and documented the animal's carcass. “This was the last crocodile. Why did they kill it?” Sherwood asked. “When I found it, I didn’t know it was dead. I entered the burrow and saw its tail. This was a premeditated killing. It’s terrible to think that professionals did this.”
Animal rights group Let the Animals Live said it was “shocked” by the incident, calling it a “heinous and cruel act against the last crocodile that tried to escape with its life.” The organization questioned why a safe alternative location was not found for the animal and called for an investigation.
The Coordination and Liaison Administration said the Nature and Parks Authority inspectors, operating under the Civil Administration’s environmental department, continued to patrol the area after the culling to ensure no threat remained.
“On Thursday, the inspectors located crocodile tracks and followed them. Once the animal was found, the area was secured, and the inspectors acted according to the instructions of professional authorities,” the administration said in a statement.