'Monster' spotted in village pond

LURKING BENEATH THE WATER: Could a crocodile have made its home at the bottom of a French pond - or could it be something more sinister?

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A French village is on alert after several sightings of a crocodile in a local pond, with police and local anglers joining the hunt for the "Loch Ness monster of the Vosges."

Xertigny, a village of 3,000 inhabitants in the Vosges region in eastern France, has been transfixed by the unexplained sightings and sightseers have regularly gathered by the water's edge to follow the hunt.

A chicken has been left by the waterside to attract the animal, but so far it has escaped capture and local authorities are considering draining the pool.

"We have been around the pond several times and you can't really say if anything is there," said Bruno Aime, vice president of a local anglers' association, told France Info radio, after using a special sonar device to investigate.

"I think it's carp but it could also be a caiman of about 1.50 metres. The equipment doesn't let you see the difference between a pike of a metre long and a caiman of 1.50 metres," he said.

Crocodiles are found only in zoos and parks in France.

The local Est Republicain newspaper has covered the chase in a special blog that includes hour-by-hour updates (in French) and footage of the search - but the only animal it has caught on film so far is a small mammal resembling a water vole.

- Reuters

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FapFap   #1   06:59 am Jun 25 2009

Just have one of the local cops go swimming in the pool. Crocs just love the taste of chicken.

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