{"id":7750,"date":"2026-07-18T19:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/?p=7750"},"modified":"2026-07-18T19:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:32:23","slug":"no-plans-to-capture-crocodile-spotted-at-popular-komodo-national-park-dive-sites-authorities-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/no-plans-to-capture-crocodile-spotted-at-popular-komodo-national-park-dive-sites-authorities-say\/","title":{"rendered":"No Plans to Capture Crocodile Spotted at Popular Komodo National Park Dive Sites, Authorities Say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Komodo National Park Authority (BTNK) has confirmed it will not capture the crocodile recently spotted in the waters around Strawberry Rock and Kalong Island<\/a>, popular dive and snorkeling locations within Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Officials say the wild animal is expected to relocate on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Instinctively, all wild animals naturally move from one place to another,” explained BTNK Head Hendrikus Rani Siga on Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Natural Pattern, Not an Emergency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hengki, as he’s known, compared the situation to Komodo dragons that occasionally swim in the sea, they too are left alone and typically return to land on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The location where the crocodile appeared is a known diving and snorkeling spot. Hengki confirmed this directly: “Yes, [Strawberry Rock and Kalong Island are] diving and snorkeling spots,” he said, urging tour operators and tourists to remain cautious of the crocodile’s presence in the park’s waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crocodile was first seen swimming at the surface on Friday, July 17, drawing the attention of tourists aboard boats sailing through the park’s waters at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Kind of Crocodile Is It?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hengki said the animal observed is believed to be a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), a species naturally found throughout the NTT region. According to him, saltwater crocodiles are typically concentrated in coastal areas, river estuaries, and mangrove ecosystems, citing locations such as the area around Nanga Nae River, the Gorontalo coastline (behind Hotel Jayakarta), and the mangrove area of Golo Sepang Village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ecologically, the saltwater crocodile is a semi-aquatic apex predator capable of swimming long distances and moving between islands depending on habitat dynamics, food availability, and natural behavior,” Hengki said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the species is known to migrate across bodies of water, including from Australia toward the Nusa Tenggara region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The appearance of this individual around Strawberry Rock and Kalong Island is believed to be part of the animal’s natural movement outside its primary habitat,” Hengki said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety Guidance for Visitors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hengki urged residents and tourism operators to remain vigilant while engaging in activities near the areas where the crocodile has been sighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Avoid swimming or conducting water activities in that area, and immediately report any further sightings of the crocodile to Komodo National Park Authority officers or relevant authorities,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#heybalinews<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Komodo National Park Authority (BTNK) has confirmed it will not capture the crocodile recently spotted in the waters around Strawberry Rock and Kalong Island, popular dive and snorkeling locations within Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Officials say the wild animal is expected to relocate on its own. “Instinctively, all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":[],"jnews_food_recipe":[],"enable_food_recipe":"","food_recipe_title":"","food_recipe_description":"","food_recipe_serve":"","food_recipe_time":"","food_recipe_prep":"","food_recipe_level":"","food_recipe_keywords":"","food_recipe_category":"","food_recipe_cuisine":"","food_recipe_yield":"","food_recipe_calories":"","enable_print_recipe":"","ingredient":[],"instruction":"","jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_review":[],"enable_review":"","type":"","name":"","summary":"","brand":"","sku":"","good":[],"bad":[],"score_override":"","override_value":"","rating":[],"price":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,51],"tags":[246,47,106,146,77,190,614,433,594,54],"class_list":["post-7750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-bali-update","tag-animal","tag-bali","tag-bali-expat","tag-bali-life","tag-indonesia","tag-komodo-island","tag-komodo-national-park","tag-labuan-bajo","tag-labuan-bajo-tourism","tag-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7751,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7750\/revisions\/7751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}