While we here in the US are witnessing the advance of the reptile legions on their way north to make water skiing more adventurous in Minnesota, the Philippines is also seeing it's share of scaly trouble.
MANILA (Reuters) – A 12-year-old boy survived an attack by a crocodile that was being kept as a pet near an elementary school on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, officials said on Tuesday.
The seven-foot (2.1-metre) reptile bit Ramon Palmares on the arm after he poked it and threw pebbles, said Basilio Rosal, a local official in Cotabato City.
"We weren't aware that a crocodile exists in that house," Rosal told reporters. "It poses real danger to many curious schoolchildren."
Romeo Manzan, a wildlife officer, said it was illegal to keep wildlife as pets, citing a Philippine law and an international convention on endangered species. Manzan said he had seized the crocodile along with a python also found at the house.
No word on whether the croc was using newspaper bait. But isn't it typical to try to blame the victim? I mean all the kid did was try to poke the thing. And throw rocks. The poor tyke probably wanted to play with the big lizard!
