A young man caught a crocodile with his bare hands in Zhongshan City, the Southern Metropolitan News reported Sunday (Apr. 11).

Li Zhihao caught the 1.5-meter-long reptile Wednesday evening when he was on his way from Guangzhou to Shanxiang Township in Zhongshan.

Li took the crocodile to Zhongshan forestry bureau, and was paid 500 yuan (US$61) reward.

The crocodile had jumped from a farm vehicle and tried to escape into roadside grass, Li said. He grabbed the 15-kilogram reptile's tail and rotated it 20 times to subdue it.

Li then tied the reptile's jaws closed with his shirt and took it home, planning to take it to authorities Friday.

However, several of Li's friends thought he was foolish and took the crocodile to another township to sell it while Li was away. It took Li two hours to find it.

Li tried to take the reptile back to Sanxiang in a taxi but the taxi driver drove him off after seeing the crocodile. Li had to wait for Zhongshan Forestry Bureau staff to pick him up.

While he was waiting for forestry staff, somebody offered to buy the crocodile for 2,000 yuan, but Li refused. "I want to send it to a zoo. I want to find a good home for it," he said.

Lin Bingqiang, director of the Zhongshan Forestry Bureau, said the croc could be very dangerous if it was left at large. "Hungry crocs are very aggressive," he said.

The forestry bureau had caught another crocodile in Minzhong County, Zhongshan Wednesday. Li said the two reptiles were probably from the same vehicle.

Editor: Donald