Crocodile Shocks Monks With Surprise Visit to Temple Pond

Monks at a temple said this week they have no idea how a crocodile, that is approximately 4-feet long, made its way into their pond.

The monks in Phuket, Thailand, expressed concerns about the crocodile potentially attacking people who feed turtles in the pond, according to The Phuket Express. The Phuket Fisheries Office on Friday removed the large reptile from the pond before it was able to hurt anyone, The Thaiger reported.

It is not uncommon for crocodiles to show up in strange places across Thailand. Last month, a crocodile was found in a small pond in a wooded area on Charoen Krung soi 107 in Bangkok, according to The Thaiger.

In another incident in April, two residents in Chon Buri in Ko Chan district, were attacked by a crocodile that was found in a lagoon. The attack left one person suffering a hand injury, while the other suffered a leg injury.

Known to be fierce creatures with strong jaws and 80 razor-sharp teeth, crocodiles often attack humans in areas where they are natives. Around 1,000 people are killed annually by crocodiles, according to the animal encyclopedia AZ Animals and CrocBITE, a database of global crocodile attacks. However, it is hard to document the exact number of crocodile attacks because some of them happen in remote areas and go unreported.

Newsweek reached out to The Phuket Fisheries Office for additional information and comment.

Crocodile Attacks Reported Globally

In August, passers-by in Tamaulipas, Mexico, spotted a large crocodile swimming in a lagoon with a dead man's body in its jaws. Residents took a video of the jarring moment and posted it on social media.

The 25-year-old victim was captured by the 11-foot-long crocodile after he entered the lagoon, which residents say is "forbidden" for people to swim in. Police said the man went into the water after ignoring the signs at the park that warned people against it.

In June, a 13-foot crocodile reportedly ate a construction worker in the West Papua province of Indonesia. The man was sitting on a boat after swimming in the bay before he was snatched by the giant reptile into the water. Residents later located the crocodile, after noticing that it had a bloated stomach, and then cut it open to discover the remains of the man, according to police.

In another incident in April, Joshua Young, a fisherman in Caye Caulker, Belize, fought a 10-foot crocodile that attacked him while he was spearfishing on a beach where people often snorkel, fish, and swim. At one point, the reptile clamped its jaw around Young's head, who was able to swim to shore. Young suffered injuries that included teeth punctures to his throat, chin, forehead, and hands.