Other sightings or reports of crocs in the UK

One of the more detailed cases in from the Welsh Marches in the Gloucester-Sharpness canal in 2003 which the CFZ looked into.

A Caiman in the Canal? « Severnside Centre for Fortean Research -

The CFZ were also involved in this case in London.
East End Crocodile Hunt Begins (from This Is Local London) August 2005

THE hunt is on to find out if a bloodthirsty crocodile really is lurking in the
River Lea.
A Leyton and Leytonstone Guardian exclusive last week revealed
that the reptile could have been responsible for snatching a large Canada goose
from the river, near the Lea Interchange in Leyton.
Since then reports have
come in that the peckish beast may be taking its pick from the river's rich menu
of wildlife.
Five cygnets have been reported missing to the Lea Rivers Trust
and tales of dogs being snatched from the riverbank are doing the rounds among
local fishermen.

2000 Essex

SPECTACLED CAIMAN A man who paid £20 in an Essex pub for what he thought was an
exotic lizard ran into trouble as the creature turned out to be a Spectacled
Caiman - a type of Crocodile. The Caiman - christened Carmen - was only 12
inches long when it was rescued in June 2000, but at full size could grow up to
seven feet in length. When found it was severely underweight, had an infected
stub on its broken tail and had two claws missing. Caimans, which require being
housed in tropical conditions and fed a diet of fish and meat, have an
aggressive nature.

Manchester 2002 - Alligator rescued from house

An alligator, which lived most of his life in a building in the back garden of a
house in Greater Manchester, is starting a new life in Spain, thanks to the
RSPCA. Samson, a six-foot American alligator, has lived in a purpose-built home
attached to the conservatory of his owner’s house in Bury for 27 years. August
2002

Two-inch 'pet lizard' grows into crocodile by Tom Sykes and Peter Gruner
June 14, 2001

A North London man whose son swapped a fish for what he thought was a small
lizard had to call in the RSPCA when the animal grew into a crocodile and bit
him - and could have killed him.
The boy had in fact been given a baby
spectacled cayman, capable of growing to more than 7 feet and more suited to
feasting on the flesh of large birds and mammals in South American swamps than a
terraced house in Palmers Green.
When the boy, a keen fish breeder, first
obtained the cayman, which is listed as a dangerous wild animal and has to be
registered with the authorities, it was only two inches long. Over the next 18
months it grew and grew until it was two-and-a half feet. The crocodile was kept
in a four-foot tank half filled with water - although caymans need dry land to
bask on in order to be fit and healthy.

Alligator Living In Bedroom North Derbyshire

Inspector Ian Briggs RSPCA officers rescued a five-foot alligator from a flat in
Chesterfield, where it had been living in a pond liner in a bedroom measuring
just ten feet square.Louis the Mississippi alligator was imported from America
to live in a British zoo, before he was sold to a pet shop and then snapped up
by an exotics’ collector. However, the alligator’s new owner, who did not have a
DWA licence, quickly found he was unable to cope with the creature.RSPCA
Inspector Ian Briggs said: “Alligators like Louis can grow up to 12 feet in
length. Clearly, a flat is a totally unsuitable environment for an animal such
as this. The alligator was not licensed so there was no mechanism in place for
either its welfare or safety issues to be monitored.”The DWA Act must be
tightened up so that animals such as this do not slip through the net.” Louis,
who was rescued from the flat in December 1999, is now being cared for at
Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens, a specialist exotics centre in North Norfolk.


There is also a strange link between crocs and one of the ancient Welsh lake monsters the Affanc. More on this later.