COIMBATORE: After a long-drawn effort, the Coimbatore forest department captured a crocodile from a pond in Mettupalayam on Wednesday.

Villagers spotted the crocodile in a pond in Pattakaranur village in Mettupalayam and informed the Sirumugai forest department. Soon, a team led by Sirumugai Forest Range Officer K Manoj commenced the operation to capture the crocodile. “Works to pump out water from the ten-foot-deep pond began Tuesday morning and continued through the night by fixing powerful lights. The pond was fenced with a wire net to prevent the crocodile from moving out of the water body,” said an official.

The crocodile was spotted amidst slush as the water level receded. In a challenging task, the forest department personnel tightened a rope around its snout and captured it after long hours.

It was then left in the Bhavanisagar catchment area, giving much-needed relief to villagers. The forest department staff suspects the crocodile to have entered the pond during recent flooding after the monsoon rains. In March, a crocodile that entered a banana plantation was captured by the Sirumugai forest department staff and released in the backwaters of the Bhavani Sagar dam.