A dozen crocodiles escaped from a farm and a python washed up on a beach following extreme floods in South Africa.
Torrential rainfall has caused devastating floods throughout South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. The floods have caused widespread damage to the coastal area and has had a devastating impact. So far, 45 people have died.
The extreme floods have also displaced a huge amount of wildlife in the region.
Twelve crocodiles living at the Crocodile Creek Farm in Tongaat, North of Durban, were washed away by the floods. As of April 13, seven have been recaptured, and the remaining five are still at large, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife said in a statement. "We suspect that they might have walked towards the Tongaat River which is less than a kilometer from the farm," it said.
Since their escape, videos of the crocodiles have been posted to social media, as local people spot them lurking around the area. One Facebook user, Debra Greeff responded to the statement and said one had been spotted just underneath a bridge on Tongaat River.
Crocodile Creek in Tongaat has been washed away. Crocodiles on the loose
Meanwhile, a 10-foot south African python was found washed up on a beach, entangled in the flood debris.
Snake catcher Nick Evans arrived at the beach to remove the snake. In a Facebook post, he said the area has been "devastated by the force of nature."
A picture of the snake posted to Facebook shows the snake trapped among weeds and other debris.
"As many will know, the beaches have been trashed, covered in debris...Poor [snake] must have had a heck of a time," the snake catcher said in a Facebook post. "The Tongaat river was quite close. It must have got washed down, and ended up here. It must have been like being in a washing machine."
Evans said he was "quite surprised" at the size of it. South African pythons typically do not get any bigger then 10 foot.
"All the vegetation looked like a wetland, in the dark, in the middle of the beach. It was so weird ... It was just a bizarre sight," Evans said.
Not only had the serpent washed up in this peculiar location, there were a bunch of frogs, stick insects and katydids on the beach, also washed up by the floods, Evans said.
"The python was entangled in the debris, but I saw the head sticking out one end. I grabbed that quickly, as I was worried it would try head deeper in," he said.
Evans then fed the head back through the vegetation, towards the rest of its body and managed to detangle the snake.
"She seems absolutely fine, apart from being cold and exhausted," Evans said. "She's been given some warmth and will be released as soon as conditions permit. We'll also collect data from her, for our research...One of the most beautiful pythons."
Not long after Evans had rescued the python, he said a crocodile had washed up in the same location. It is not clear whether it was one of the escaped crocodiles.
"Africa is quite something," Evans said.
