Firefighters using
an amphibious vehicle and forest rangers were searching an
estuary of the Chienti river Thursday for a crocodile apparently
spotted by a canoe instructor, firefighters said.
The witness said the reptile, spotted between the river and
marshland at Civitanova Marche in the province of Macerata, was
not a large one but the alarm was considered serious and search
operations were expected to continue until nightfall, firemen
said.
A forest guard, however, said he was sceptical about the
sighting.
"We checked and there are no circuses in the area. The
nearest zoo is many kilometres away, at Falconara Marittima, and
there is no news of private farms raising alligators or
crocodiles".
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