MELAKA: After a saltwater crocodile was spotted at Tanjung Bidara here recently, rumours have begun swirling that a rare albino specimen has appeared along the Klebang seafront some 20km away, says a hotelier.
According to Dennis Samford, he has received calls from guests about sightings of the creature along the shoreline but considered these to be just rumours.
"The hype over the saltwater crocodile started after the sighting of the reptile at Tanjung Bidara.
"I've only seen sea otters visiting my resort regularly," he told The Star on Wednesday (Feb 22), adding that no other hoteliers along the Klebang shoreline have reported such sightings.
ALSO READ: Croc seen at Tanjung Bidara most likely from Negri sanctuary, says Melaka Perhilitan
Samford said saltwater crocodiles were previously spotted along Sungai Malim here but this was the first time he heard stories of a white one.
"I made a quick check after the guests' enquiries and found there is a legend surrounding the albino crocodile in Sungai Linggi," he said.
Samford added that he read in a Bahasa Malaysia newspaper about a family from Mantin, Negri Sembilan claiming to be descendants of a mythical creature from Sungai Linggi there.
He said the report from 2021 concerned a man who identified himself as "Mohd Zain" claiming that his ancestor fell in the river and turned into an white crocodile to keep the people from being attacked by the other reptiles there.
Meanwhile, Klebang assemblyman Datuk Lim Ban Hong said the legend of the albino crocodile has existed for a long time but added that there is no concrete evidence to back these claims.
"I will check with local fishermen whether there were such sightings around the Klebang coastline," he added.
On Tuesday (Feb 21), the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) identified several reasons behind the appearance of a 2m-long saltwater crocodile spotted at Tanjung Bidara recreational seafront, some distance from its natural habitat in Sungai Linggi.
ALSO READ: Croc sighting: Traps set in waters off Tanjung Bidara, Kuala Linggi
Melaka Perhilitan director Mohd Firrdhaus Mahmood said rivalry, searching for food and new habitats, crossing to another estuary and looking for fresh ground to lay eggs had been identified as the probable factors for the crocodile to emerge along the Melaka shoreline.
There are an estimated 200 crocodiles in the sanctuary along Sungai Linggi, which flows through Negri Sembilan and Malacca.
The Negri Sembilan government has gazetted a 1.37ha site was gazetted as a Saltwater Crocodile Sanctuary on May 4, 2021, while a low-impact development proposal to the sanctuary areas was implemented to protect the species which used Sg Linggi as its habitat.
A total of 164 observations of these crocodiles were conducted in a 2020 study with the largest specimen measuring 5m long and the smallest, 1m.
The saltwater crocodile is a threatened species that is fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
