Mysuru: Kuppanna Park in the heart of the city, the venue of the just-concluded Dasara Flower Show where over three lakh people visited, had a rare visitor this morning — a two-year-old healthy male crocodile. The reptile was spotted behind a dustbin, in a water-logged area, where the Flower Show was held.

The crocodile was spotted by a gardener at 5.30 am, who came out of his quarters in the Park. He saw something moving in the water-logged area and later realised that it was a crocodile. It was drizzling and the gardener alerted his higher officers who in turn informed the Forest Department.

Mysuru North Deputy Range Forest Officer (DRFO) Manju, Mysuru South ADRFO Mallesh, guards Jagadeesh and Manjunath and Forest Department Veterinary Assistant Akram rushed to the spot and found the reptile near the replica of a clock tower.

The team that had brought nets, wires and ropes managed to trap the crocodile and its mouth was tied. As it was a young crocodile, enough precautions had to be taken to prevent the powerful reptile from biting. The entire operation concluded at 8.30 am and the reptile was taken to Aranya Bhavan at Ashokapuram. It was later taken to Gende Hosahalli Forest Island near Srirangapatna and was let into water.

Forest officials said that the crocodile was six-and-a-half-feet-long and weighed over 50 kgs. They said that the reptile could have come either from Mysuru Zoo or from Karanji Lake. While the Zoo is around half-a-kilometre from the Kuppanna Park, the Karanji Lake is over one-and-a-half kilometres.  The crocodile must have come from Karanji Lake to the Zoo and then to Kuppanna Park through a drainage.