A giant crocodile weighing almost a tonne was caught in a ditch in Malaysia.

The five-metre long crocodile is believed to have become disorientated after recent storms and heavy rain.

Shocked locals found it thrashing around in a drainage channel near the St Edmund's School, Limbang City, Sarawak, on Tuesday night (November 10).

Terrified residents fled as the snarling beast tried to escape, but the tight squeeze meant it was trapped.

Malaysian Fire and Rescue officials said fearful residents shot the crocodile to subdue it. However, when they removed it this morning it was still alive.

The spokesman said: "The crocodile had a gunshot wound and we tried our best to save it.''

Fire and Rescue Officers in Limbang City hauled out the 800kg croc using a forklift truck before it was placed on a lorry.

The spokesman added: ''The crocodile was about 80 years old. It was taken to the Sarawak Forest Service where vets performed emergency treatment but sadly it died.''

Chief Executive Officer of the Sarawak Forestry Service, Zolkipli Mohamad, said that his team had to put the crocodile down because of the wounds it had suffered from locals.


Zolkipli said: "The crocodile was critically injured from the severe wound it had suffered on its head. It had to be euthanised. There will be an investigation into who shot the crocodile and why.''