If waking up to a torrential downpour and weather forecasters’ predictions of electrical storms and further rain this afternoon wasn’t bad enough news, flooded Jakarta residents had something else to worry about on Friday morning – monitor lizards and snakes.
Witnesses have reported several sightings of large monitor lizards and pythons moving through the floodwaters in the Indonesian capital, reports the Jakarta Globe.
“Crocodile, crocodile, there’s a crocodile in the water,” shouted a scared motorcyclist after seeing a large lizard in the floodwaters on Jalan MH Thamrin, in Central Jakarta, according to Sindonews.com.
Central Jakarta is flooded following heavy rain in this photo taken on Thursday. Seasonal rains have triggered massive flooding in Indonesia’s capital, triggering the evacuation of at least 20,000 people. (AP Photo)
Bystanders fled the scene as a group of men grabbed the reportedly 1 metre long animal by its tail and beat it with sticks before one of them realised it was a monitor lizard, not a crocodile.
“There’s a crocodile stranded in the yard of my friend’s house in Jalan Sumenep, Menteng” @bonitawisnuw posted on Twitter.
The beast was later discovered to be a large monitor lizard.
Meanwhile, residents of Bendungan Hilir captured a 2m python found swimming through the murky floodwaters and held it in a cage, according to Detik.com.
The Jakarta Animal Aid Network JAAN is reportedly scanning the city for animals that may have washed up in the floods and will try to transport them to safety.
Indonesia declared a state of emergency in Jakarta as a third day of flooding brought traffic to a standstill in the city of 9.6 million people and swamped the offices of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday.
Nine people have been confirmed dead in the floods.