Indonesia offers reward for getting tyre off crocodile

The huge crocodile has had the motorcycle tyre around its neck for several years
The huge crocodile has had the motorcycle tyre around its neck for several years

JAKARTA - Indonesian authorities are offering a reward to anyone who can rescue a saltwater crocodile with a motorbike tyre stuck around its neck -- and survive.

The contest will see one brave croc hunter land an unspecified amount of cash, but it will mean coming face to face with the 13-foot (4-metre) reptile in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi.

Local conservation authorities have been trying -- and failing -- for several years to find a way to help the croc after video showed it gasping for air.

That sparked worries the tyre was slowly killing the animal.

After a recent sighting, the province's governor instructed his conservation agency to figure out how to remove the tyre

The agency offered few details on the reward, or how people might complete the task.

But its chief -- who said the cash would come out of his own pocket -- warned that he was not asking amateurs to hunt down the reptile, but rather people with a background in wildlife rescue.

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Vocabulary

  • amateur: a person who takes part in a sport or other activity for enjoyment, not as a job - มือสมัครเล่น
  • conservation (noun): the protection of plants and animals, natural areas, and interesting and important structures and buildings, especially from the damaging effects of human activity - การอนุรักษ์ธรรมชาติ, การป้องกันความสูญเสีย, การสงวนไว้
  • contest: a competition - การแข่งขัน
  • crocodile (noun): a large animal (reptile) with a long body, a long mouth and many sharp teeth, that lives in the water in hot countries - จระเข้
  • gasp: to breathe in suddenly, for example because you are surprised, shocked, or in pain - อ้าปากค้าง
  • pocket: the holes on side of pants to keep things like money - กระเป๋า, กระเป๋าเสื้อหรือกางเกง
  • reptile: any animal that has cold blood and skin covered in scales, and that lays eggs, e.g., snakes, crocodiles, etc. - สัตว์เลื้อยคลาน
  • reward: something given in exchange for good behaviour or good work, etc - รางวัล
  • sighting: an occasion when somebody sees somebody/something, especially something unusual or something that lasts for only a short time - โอกาสที่จะได้เห็น
  • tyre (noun): (American: "tire") a thick rubber ring that fits around the edge of a wheel of a car, bicycle, etc. - ยางรถ
  • unspecified: not stated clearly or definitely - ไม่ระบุให้แน่ชัด

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