Rogue crocodile could be a mixed breed: expert
An expert believes that Yanui, the much-travelled crocodile that patrolled the beaches of Phuket for several weeks, has a mixed heritage. However, more DNA tests are being conducted.
Today (August 9) at the Phuket Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre in Pa Khloe, specialist Montri Sumonta inspected Yanui.
Montri is an expert in the field, stationed at the Marin Research and Development Station in Ranong.
Yanui, named by Phuket reporters after the beach where it was sighted, was caught at Layan beach on July 29 after more than 10 days of searching, sightings and drone photos from Yanui beach in the south to Layan beach off Laguna.
Yanui is a female crocodile aged around seven years old, measuring 2.5 metres and weighing about 150kg.
Montri said: “After we physically checked Yanui, we have found that the mouth is narrow. Yanui has big scales on her occipital bone and small scales on the side of her body.
"So at this stage we believe that Yanui might be a mixed-breed crocodile, but more of a saltwater crocodile. However, we will confirm the precise species after further DNA tests.
“Yanui can move very quickly. She is a very strong and has good responses. Some scratches can be found on her body from when she was caught.
"A lot of moss was also found on Yanui. This suggests that Yanui was hiding in still water for a long time.”
Sourec: https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/yanui-believed-to-be-a-mixed-breed-crocodile