Skyzoo, a “leisure farm” in Taichung, has found two of three false gharials that escaped from the farm in July.
On Monday, the Taichung City Fire Department said that firefighters discovered an 80cm false gharial in a drainage ditch near a bridge in Taichung’s Dajia District (大甲) after they received a tip-off.
The reptile was caught in barbed wire hanging from tree branches, and firefighters took it to a fire station and reported the catch to the Agriculture Bureau, the department said.
The false gharial, also known as the Malayan gharial or Sunda gharial, is a freshwater crocodilian with a very thin and elongated snout.
The false gharial is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as its population is estimated at less than 2,500 mature reptiles.
In July, Skyzoo sent 11 juvenile false gharials from its breeding farm in Chiayi County to its leisure farm and reported the move to the Agriculture Bureau in accordance with relevant regulations.
The animal is believed to be one of the three false gharials that went missing the same month from Skyzoo, the department said.
A few days later, Dajia police said they had received information that a juvenile reptile had been caught.
It was later identified as a false gharial believed to be from Skyzoo, the bureau said.
The bureau has fined Skyzoo for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法).
The bureau yesterday urged the public to report any sightings of the animals.
It is not the first time that Skyzoo has come under public scrutiny.
In December last year, the Taichung City Government took legal action against Skyzoo after A-ho, a hippopotamus, died from serious injuries sustained while it was being transported.
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