Villagers are seriously alarmed and avoid using the water after a religious teacher recorded a mysterious object in Khlong Hok Wa, suspected to be a "crocodile." Fisheries agencies from the two provinces of Chachoengsao and Nakhon Nayok are urgently planning a crocodile capture operation.
On 12 May 2026, reports stated that yesterday afternoon (11 May), behind the Chalermphrakiat Health Promoting Hospital, Village 18, Don Chimphli Subdistrict, Bang Nam Priao District, Chachoengsao Province—which is Khlong Hok Wa, located on the border with Village 5, Phra Achan Subdistrict, Nakhon Nayok Province—Mr. Natthanet Mahasaksiri, Chief Executive of Don Chimphli Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Bang Nam Priao District, Chachoengsao, together with Mr. Phuthai Boonrod, Chief Executive of Phra Achan Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Nakhon Nayok, held a meeting to plan a follow-up. The "mysterious crocodile" is believed to reside within Khlong Hok Wa, the canal that forms the boundary between Chachoengsao and Nakhon Nayok provinces.
Also attending the meeting were Mr. Atthaphon Nusut, Fisheries Officer of Bang Nam Priao District, Chachoengsao, and Mr. Warit Tonupatsorn, Fisheries Officer of Ongkharak District, Nakhon Nayok, along with local village heads and community leaders observing the discussion.
Mr. Warit revealed that after a local religious teacher at the mosque recorded a clip of a suspicious object in Khlong Hok Wa, believed to be a crocodile, officials have urgently planned to inspect the area. Naturally, crocodiles tend to be more active at night than during the day, so today's meeting was limited to discussion and planning.
Initially, support has been requested for boats from Don Chimphli Subdistrict Administrative Organization in Chachoengsao and Bueng Phra Achan Subdistrict Administrative Organization in Nakhon Nayok to jointly survey the waterways on the night of 12 May. Coordination has also been made with the Freshwater Fisheries Protection Unit at Khun Dan Prakarn Chon Dam, Nakhon Nayok, which has expertise in capturing crocodiles and dangerous aquatic animals, to participate in the search mission.
If a crocodile is confirmed to inhabit the area, officials will hold a community meeting to gather local opinions on whether to allow it to live naturally or to capture and remove it, since crocodiles are protected animals under the law.
Mr. Kittisak Wangman, 49, a religious teacher at Attakwa Mosque, Pak Khlong 20, who filmed the clip, revealed that about two weeks ago, while riding a motorcycle across the Khlong Hok Wa bridge, he noticed something floating in the water. Curious, he returned to look and recorded it on his mobile phone. Based on his decades of experience living by the canal, he is confident that what he saw was a "crocodile" without a doubt.
Since the news spread, villagers on both sides of the canal in Chachoengsao and Nakhon Nayok have become anxious. Many avoid using the canal water, uncertain if the animal is truly a crocodile. They have called on authorities to urgently verify the facts and, if confirmed, want the crocodile removed promptly so that the community can return to normal life.