OMEN
08-23-2010, 09:20 PM
http://imagevader.com/out.php?i=166490_crocodile-pa-3b49f7f293080e6522b512a58de30cb7.jpg
Beaches along the English Channel were closed after a piece of wood was mistaken for a 12ft crocodile.
The alarm was raised after French authorities received reports of the 'crocodile' swimming around boats in the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
A local newspaper said further warnings were later received from other eye witnesses, reports the Daily Telegraph.
But French coastguards later confirmed the crocodile sightings had in fact been sparked by a floating piece of wood.
With thousands descending on the beaches during the Channel's high season, officials said they decided to ban swimming just in case.
Police and fire brigade officials supported by the army carried out a wide-ranging search, broadcasting warnings in English and French to holidaymakers.
A search of nearby zoos and amphibian centres for a missing crocodile was also launched. The elusive reptile was even dubbed Croc Monsieur after the French ham and cheese toastie.
Jeremie Marion, spokesman for the Opale animal welfare agency which coordinated the search, said that if a crocodile was in the English Channel it would be in great discomfort and therefore extremely dangerous.
He added: "If there was a crocodile in the area he would not live for long, because an animal with cold blood needs a temperature of around 30 degrees."
Orange
Beaches along the English Channel were closed after a piece of wood was mistaken for a 12ft crocodile.
The alarm was raised after French authorities received reports of the 'crocodile' swimming around boats in the French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
A local newspaper said further warnings were later received from other eye witnesses, reports the Daily Telegraph.
But French coastguards later confirmed the crocodile sightings had in fact been sparked by a floating piece of wood.
With thousands descending on the beaches during the Channel's high season, officials said they decided to ban swimming just in case.
Police and fire brigade officials supported by the army carried out a wide-ranging search, broadcasting warnings in English and French to holidaymakers.
A search of nearby zoos and amphibian centres for a missing crocodile was also launched. The elusive reptile was even dubbed Croc Monsieur after the French ham and cheese toastie.
Jeremie Marion, spokesman for the Opale animal welfare agency which coordinated the search, said that if a crocodile was in the English Channel it would be in great discomfort and therefore extremely dangerous.
He added: "If there was a crocodile in the area he would not live for long, because an animal with cold blood needs a temperature of around 30 degrees."
Orange