A runaway crocodile that has eluded capture in suburban Hong Kong for five months was spotted "sunbathing" on traps laid for it before being scared off by a boatload of photographers.The elusive crocodile was seen crawling around a riverbank in Yuen Long, near the Chinese border, and lying on top of several traps for at least two hours, the Apple Daily said. Government animal catchers thought it was finally going to slip into one of the traps until a boatload of press photographers hoping for pictures of its capture showed up and scared it away, the South China Morning Post said. The crocodile was first sighted in a putrid neighbourhood stream five months ago. Australian hunter John Lever tried to cage the then 1.5-metre beast for two weeks in November, but left Hong Kong without success. Recent sightings of the croc suggest it has swollen in size on a diet of dead fish in the river's polluted waters, reports said. Crocodiles are not native to Hong Kong and experts believe the renegade reptile was most likely once a pet or had escaped from a farm in southern China where exotic animals are raised to be eaten in restaurants. Three tourists who said they were crocodile hunters from South America are the latest to offer to try to catch the beast, the reports said. The authorities said they were considering their request.
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