14ft 'Demon' Crocodile Captured, Beheaded And Buried By Villagers In Indonesia

A 14 foot long 'demon' crocodile has been beheaded by villagers in Indonesia, having been hunted down after terrorising locals.

The huge 50-year-old beast had reportedly attacked several people in the area, prompting residents of Bangka Belitung Islands to track it down - eventually trapping it in nets they'd placed in the Kayubesi River on Monday evening, which had been modified with sharp blades inside.

After two days in captivity, the half-tonne beast died from exhaustion, later being carried to a burial site on a bulldozer as it was so big.

Superstitious villagers decided to bury the body and head separately, hoping this would mean the crocodile - which they believed was an evil spirit - would not come back to haunt them.

Viral Press

They had also refused to hand the corpse over to conservationists, believing the village would be doomed if the reptile was to be transferred somewhere else.

Resources Conservation Agency said officials tried to negotiate with local leaders, but they were against relocating the wild animal and insisted it stayed there.

Septian Garo, head of local conservation agency Bangka Belitung Natural, said: "There was a belief that the crocodile should not be removed from the village because it is a demon.

"They [referred to] local beliefs that hampered the [animal's] relocation."

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Septian explained how the entire neighbourhood would be doomed if the crocodile was taken elsewhere, according to local tradition.

He recalled a similar incident in 2016, when locals refused to allow the agency to rescue another crocodile from the same village.

While residents refused to allow the animal to be moved, authorities were able to inspect the body before the burial, finding that the crocodile - estimated to be 50 years old - had no teeth.

Those who caught the 500kg creature had struggled to lift it, meaning they had to enlist the help of a bulldozer to carry it from the river when it was captured to the field where it was buried.

Viral Press

Before dumping it into the ground, locals sawed off the crocodile's head so that 'the demon will not come back to life and haunt them'.

A village official said: "The body and head must be buried separately because this is a demon crocodile. Before cutting it off, there is also a special ritual."

The crocodile was finally laid to rest after the villagers participated in the ritual.

Topics: indonesia, World News, News, crocodile, Animals

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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