By Suresh Perera

Panic-stricken peasants screamed in terror as the giant man-eating crocodile surfaced from the water, its mean eyes glaring beadily, but the poor villagers of Paraduwa were indeed fortunate this time to live to tell the tale.

The deadly, 20-foot crocodile had sneaked towards them as silently as the placid waters of Nilwala ganga flowed, and it was the lingering horror of seeing Seetha, their fellow villager, fall victim to the monster which saved their lives that evening.

The villagers of this sleepy, far-flung hamlet off Akuressa have remained alert since their friendly neighbour, Kilipitiyage Seetha, a mother of five children, was attacked by the croc.

Her mangled remains were found the following day close to the popular bathing spot in the village, adjacent the ‘Thotupola’ on the banks of Nilwala ganga.

"After Seetha was dragged into the depths of the river, this savage beast was sighted many a time near our in search of more human prey, says K. P. Harischandra, the distraught brother of Seetha.

"Nobody bathes at the ‘Thotupola’ any more", he said. "Villagers fear to step into the Nilwala ganga now after the horrible attack which killed my sister".

"We were close to the river away from the ‘Thotupola’ when we spotted the croc, which had quietly slipped across", he said, recalling the day the beast returned to strike again.

After frightened villagers raised the alarm, the predator had craftily withdrawn, but in a deadly display of ferocity, the monster had attacked a full-grown bull grazing in the vicinity and dragged the struggling animal into the river, Harischandra recounted.

"As villagers, we know that killer crocs always come back after they get the taste of human flesh", he noted. "That’s why we were alert".

"There is no scientific basis to the assertion that man-eating crocodiles return for human prey", says Prof. Jayanthi Edirisinghe, Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Peradeniya.

"It is just a belief amongst villagers coming down the generations", she pointed out. "Crocs are predators and they go for live prey".

"We have not done a study on the behavioural patterns of crocodiles but it is a known fact that these predators frequent places where there is prey", Prof. Edirisinghe said.

Many villagers have fallen victim as there are scores of crocs in the Nilwala ganga, a senior police officer in Akuressa said. "Some are as big as 22 feet".

"People should be wary and take all precautions as it is an offence under the law to kill crocs", he noted. "Everybody knows that these predators target their prey and strike with lightening speed".

He said that after Seetha was killed, the villagers are now too frightened to take a dip in the river.

"Villagers not only bathe but also depend on water from the Nilwala ganga for their day-to-day needs", Harischandra explained. "People are reluctant to go there now".

He said that this situation had created immense problems as adequate well water is not available to meet the needs of villagers. But, there’s no option as the killer croc has instilled widespread fear amongst villagers".

"Even the number of people using the raft to reach Paraduwa from Aturaliya to go to Akuressa or Matara has dropped drastically", he explained. "They fear the giant brute will attack the solitary small boat which carries about five at a time".

The Nilwala ganga, despite the presence of ferocious predators, is an integral part of the lives of the poor people of Paraduwa. It may be a matter of time as, whether they like it or not, they have to go back to the deceptive waters flowing so innocently….to live or to die….