Drive out with the crocodile in a pond close to Epinal
STRANGE VISITOR
Leading article of June 17th, 2009. Astonishing discovered in the south-west of Epinal. Indeed according to several witnesses it would seem that a long crocodile of approximately 1.50 m would remain in the pond of the commune of Xertigny (France).
Wednesday morning, the animal was approximate to 2 m by firemen in operation at the edge of the Monin pond, but would quickly have disappeared in water undoubtedly as surprised as by those having made this astonishing discovered. It would have also been saw by many witnesses like by gendarmes.
A trap was installed in order to capture this funny of visitor who according to his surface of distribution should not find himself at this place.
According to a witness of the area, a suspect van would have been saw about fifteen days ago from where the crocodile could be thrown with water. This testimony is supported by that of the owner of the pond, man a 82 year old, being felt sorry for to have discovered all kinds of objects as well as old machines or of the corpses of animals. This man would have already saw his strange tenant Saturday but being afraid not to be believed or to be taken for a madman, he preferred to keep this information for him.
The services of the State are on the spot with the firemen, the gendarmes and of the civils servant of the Office of hunting and the wildlife. According to the prefecture of the Vosges, a trap was installed in the afternoon to recover the animal which will be sent then in a zoo, in accordance with the decree of capture taken by the mayor of Xertigny, Veronique Marcot. The triangular pond, of a surface of 2 hectares and a 3.50 meters depth, is located at the edge of a secondary road, to 100 m of the exit of the village.
TRUTH OR HOAX ?
Leading article of the 6/25/2009. No crocodile was tapi in the content of the pond of Xertigny, in the Vosges, like proved it Thursday the total draining of this water level where several witnesses had supported to have seen a saurian, to AFP the mayor of the commune indicated Thursday, Veronique Marcot. "We carried out draining this imp around 5 a.m., by taking all the precautions necessary. But we did not find any crocodile, just a large pike of 94 centimetres", Veronique Marcot announced, confirming the information published on the site of the regional newspaper Is Republican. "I am disappointed a little, but relieved at the same time that one completely raised the doubt about the pond", she added. There was not an other solution, it was justified : "one could not take account of testimonies of last week, in the name of the precaution principle".
On the whole, some 200 kilos of fish were fished, among which a few carps, a large perch, some crayfish and several pikes, which is not "not as much as that for a pond of this size". The pond of 2 ha located in edge of a road leading to Xertigny had been the theater for eight days of an animation out of commun run there since several witnesses had told to have seen a crocodile of approximately a meter fifty length. Two firemen and a gendarme had affirmed to have seen it on June 17th in the imp, with nearly one meter fifty of them. The 18 in the imp, the trapper dispatched on the spot was the last to affirm to have seen it.
Since last Wednesday, the authorities tried to trap the crocodile with great reinforcements of chickens, ground beef, cages and nets. In vain. The authorities had even had recourse to a échosonde lent Saturday by the Federation of fishing of the Vosges, before deciding to carry out the draining of the pond. Will remain unsolved the assumption of a possible escape of the animal through wood to another pond, of which nearest is with 700 meters as the crow flies. On the councils of the police force of water, the pond from now on will remain dry for three months, because of an overpopulation of pumpkinseed, a fish considered as vermin.
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