Editorial
Crocodile in the city
Who is its owner?
Strange things are happening these days across the country. The discovery of a saltwater crocodile from a pond at Hoseni Dalan, a very unlikely habitat for such a reptile, must have come as a big surprise to the people of old Dhaka. It is really not easy to say how it made its way through the roads and concrete structures not at all suitable for a reptile to plod on unnoticed and undisturbed. Apparently, the crocodile completed the mission successfully. Of course, there is a more plausible, yet no less baffling, explanation of what might have happened. Forest department officials, who finally took charge of the crocodile, believe that it might have been abandoned by its owner as catching or keeping the greatly endangered crocodiles is prohibited by the law. The good news is that the local people did not turn violent on the reptile and no harm was done to it before it was taken to Dulahazra Safari Park near Cox's Bazar. We wish the crocodile a happy stay in its new abode and hope that it will lead a more natural life at the park than it might have experienced in captivity! A deeper look into the incident could reveal--if it is true that it had been left there by its scared owner-- something more substantive about people's reaction to the sudden tightening of the noose of law. Countless reports of wildlife being plundered by poachers and hunters have been carried by the press, but things have not changed. Now, it would be a welcome development if the crackdown on the corrupt also alerts people violating the law in various ways. Regrettably, the general awareness regarding the need for conserving wildlife is still very poor in our society. The incident shows that the acquisitive propensity of man not inhibited by the law could indeed be bizarre. We may be in for even greater surprises in the days ahead . After all, we don't yet know what some people have bought with their ill-gotten wealth. The discovery of the crocodile could only be the beginning of a series of even more startling findings.
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