false crocodile alert in Bergerac

April Fool’s Day in May? A crocodile hunt was improvised on Monday, May 22, at the foot of the old Bergerac bridge, in the waters of the Dordogne, to try to catch the formidable animal which turned out to be a fake. At the end of the afternoon, the municipality posted a very serious message on its Facebook page, inviting its inhabitants “to avoid the area” from Quai Garrigat, in the town centre, “closed to traffic following the discovery of a suspected ‘crocodile'”.

“A passerby called us because he had seen something resembling this animal in the river”, explained the emergency services to AFP. A dozen firefighters, including divers, went to the site shortly after 4 p.m., joined by the gendarmerie and the French Office for Biodiversity.

Using poles and nets to approach the animal cautiously, the specialists of the nautical brigade finally emerged from the water, two hours later, a specimen of more than two meters perfectly imitating the morphology of the crocodile. “Unfortunately, the animal is indeed deceased. A big congratulations to the SDIS 24”, wrote the municipality once the alert was lifted. Before quickly specifying, with supporting photos, that the animal was indeed a “fake”.