Police force’s rural crime team’s ‘strangest appeal ever’ revealed
Derbyshire Police’s rural crime squad said a much-discussed crocodile hunt ended when the creature pulled from a local canal was discovered to be a stuffed reptile rather than a live animal.
The case began after a tip-off from a member of the public who saw a crocodile dumped in a canal in Willington prompted police to make what they described as “the strangest call ever made to our Facebook page”.
Police sparked headlines by saying they believed the animal had been placed there and asked for information on how the animal might have gotten to the area.
The situation developed in late October as officers sought to confirm what had been found and whether the incident posed any risk to people or wildlife.
In the agency’s appeal, the rural crime team said: “We would guess that this little guy is not native to Derbyshire and so if you can provide any information on where the crocodile is now or have information on how it got to that area please send us a direct message.”
The team added: “To clarify, while we cannot claim to be medical experts, we are acutely aware that the crocodile is dead.”
The statement came after comments from members of the public that the animal appeared to be dead.
According to Derbyshire Police, the post was shared widely and attracted a lot of public attention.
Days later the rural crime squad said it received an explanation from a member of the public as to the origin of the object recovered from the water.
The team wrote online: “We can now confirm that the mystery has been solved!” and the person reported explaining that the alligator was a stuffed taxidermy model stuffed with straw accidentally caught while fishing.
Police added: “To our all bit of surprise, it turned out to be more fluff than fear!”
Police said the explanation relates to the appearance of the item and the conditions in which it was found.
The force’s Facebook followers also reacted to the update.
One commenter wrote: “Awesome! It actually made me smile when it turned out to be what it was! I can imagine it shocked you all a bit.”
