Sifis the crocodile becomes Environment Ministry’s problem

The task of trapping and relocating a 3-meter crocodile living in a lake in Rethymno, Crete, belongs under Greek law to the Environment Ministry, the island’s Deputy Regional Director Maria Lioni said Friday.

Despite having help from experts, local efforts to trap the reptile, known as Sifis, after it was spotted by forest rangers at the Potami dam on the Amari plain in June have failed.

Lioni told a meeting of island authority agencies that any further attempts will have to be coordinated by the ministry and adhere to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITA). She also rejected suggestions that the crocodile remain in the lake as a local attraction.