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The pale in the Ortenberg district of Bergheim: guesswork around an alleged crocodile
Photo: Boris Roessler / dpa
In Ortenberg in Hesse it is now doubted that the crocodile that was photographed in a stream a few days ago is a living reptile.
After calling in another expert, "serious doubts about the authenticity of the animal" arose, the city announced on Tuesday evening.
You give "a bit of the all-clear".
A final assessment is still pending.
The Wetterau city had initially assumed that it was a real crocodile and, like the police, had called for further sightings to be reported.
A police spokeswoman said on Tuesday morning that the animal does not pose a threat to people.
However, farmers and ranchers should be vigilant and dog owners should leash their animals.
According to the city, a citizen saw and photographed the reptile last week.
A zoological adviser has confirmed the authenticity of the young animal.
In the photo you can see a small crocodile with its head protruding from a reed hiding place.
The doubts arose after a long conversation with the curator of the Frankfurt Zoo, Johannes Köhler, according to the city.
"I still think it's a plastic crocodile," Koehler told the dpa news agency.
According to his own information, he is also responsible for reptiles.
The photograph in question is bad.
But you can see especially large bulges and almost hexagonal scales, which is unusual for a crocodile.
In addition, the animal's pupils are round and dilated, but during the day they should have been slit-like.
All of this makes him very sure that it is a dummy - these are also offered online.
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