While Carletonville SPCA is used to dealing with dogs and cats, its encounter with a crocodile was a first for the organisation.

According to Carletonville SPCA inspector Bokkie Janse van Vuuren, the organisation received an anonymous tip-off about a man keeping a crocodile in his yard on Annan Road.

Although the call was most unusual, the SPCA checked on Monday morning.

Amazingly, they found a juvenile female Nile crocodile in an aviary in the yard. Although the aviary has glass windows and a stream flowing through it, Carletonville central is not the place for a reptile that can grow up to seven metres in length.

“This was the first time we had to remove a crocodile in Carletonville,” says Janse van Vuuren.

As the reptile was a little aggressive, the SPCA called in Johan Lindeque, a local firefighter who removes snakes. Lindeque caught and held the crocodile while the SPCA staff secured it for safe transport to a wildlife rescue centre in Centurion. It was transferred on Monday morning.

“Besides it being illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet, it is also unfair to an animal that belongs in the wild,” says Janse van Vuuren.

“Some people think something like a crocodile would make a good pet, but do not consider that it will never be tame and [will] grow enormous. It is also virtually impossible to provide a suitable habitat or food… So it could have died from cold or starvation. What would happen if such an animal escapes and injures or kills a child or pet?”

If this is not enough of a deterrent, those who illegally keep crocodiles, a top protected species, could get a sentence of up to 10 years in prison or face a fine of up to R120 000.

At the time of publishing, it was unclear what consequences the crocodile’s owner would face.

Although this was the first such case in Carletonville, other wildlife have been found in the area.

In about 2018, a kudu ended up in the toilets at Hoërskool Carletonville after it got loose in the town. The community was also up in arms about lions that were loose in Fochville in 2017.

Janse van Vuuren says anyone who knows of wild animals being kept in the area illegally should contact the SPCA or wildlife authorities. They may remain anonymous.