‘Nothing special’: Residents near Pandan Reservoir shrug off crocodile sighting

“The common one is the monitor lizard. Sometimes when they swim, looks like a crocodile. But if you go closer, actually it’s a monitor lizard. But for this crocodile sighting, I think it’s a new thing,” he said.

He added that he would be “kind of wary”, especially when running along the reservoir bank.

Mr Zhu De Tao, 23, a Chinese student who moved to Singapore a few days ago, had not heard about the crocodile sighting when CNA approached him during an afternoon walk along the reservoir on Friday.

In China, there are alligators in the Yangtze River, but they are usually small, he noted.

PUB has said the crocodile at Pandan Reservoir is likely an estuarine crocodile, based on a photo it had seen. According to the Animal and Veterinary Service’s website, the species is the world’s largest crocodile, capable of reaching lengths of 6m to 7m.

Mr Zhu said the crocodile sighting was “totally fine” with him. “Maybe I just simply take a picture of it and post on TikTok,” he said.

PUB advised members of the public who encounter a crocodile to stay calm and back away, and not to approach, provoke or feed the animal.

It urged the public to heed warning signs and advisory notices posted at areas where crocodiles have been sighted, and to report encounters to NParks at 1800 476 1600 or PUB at 1800 225 5782.