A 29-year-old jogger has been able to capture an image of the elusive "Bristol Crocodile" lurking in the waters of River Avon, in the clearest snapshot to emerge till date, UK MailOnline reported. The legend of the mysterious 6 feet predator first began after a bus driver allegedly spotted the creature in February, prompting a full-scale police search.
A number of sightings of the mysterious creature were reported since then. However, it had not been spotted for the past five months until 29-year-old Tamara Blanco took a clear photograph Tuesday evening of what looks like a crocodile's head and snout emerging from the water under the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
"I was running close to the Suspension Bridge and suddenly I saw something in the water," Tamara, a Spanish national living in Southville, Bristol, said. "I had heard about a crocodile but that was a long time ago, so when I went home I checked on the internet and I saw that other people had seen it too."
"I felt scared at the time because the thing - whatever it was - was moving in the water," she continued. "I wanted to stay to see it properly but there was no one around and I just didn't feel comfortable."
Tamara, who works in clothes shop Zara, added, "I could feel my hair start to stand on end and I thought 'Oh my God, is it a crocodile?' and I just left the place."
Fears that a crocodile was on the loose in Bristol were first triggered when Avon and Somerset police Chief Constable Nick Gargan tweeted that a bus driver had reported a sighting from Bedminster Bridge, according to UK MailOnline. The police had immediately launched an investigation, but a search "found no trace" of the beast on February 3.
Two days later, a second sighting of the alleged crocodile came from mother-of-three Kelly Gray, 41, of Bishopsworth. A week after that, video footage of the beast was captured by 39-year-old Tom Aditya, a local councilor.
Since then, the crocodile had not been spotted until Tamara was out on a run on Tuesday evening.
Reptile expert "Crocodile Joe," one of Britain's only approved reptile rescue specialists and a regular on BBC shows such as Blue Peter, said it is not impossible for a crocodile to survive in British waters. However, a very large reptile, such as an alligator, might have its chances.
"It would be hard for a crocodile to deal with the cold temperatures for five months as it would be unable to break down food," he said. "Having said that, if it was a big crocodile, it would probably be able to survive that long, and the relatively mild winter would have helped."
"It's more likely that it would be an alligator because they don't necessarily need warmer waters to survive. It's quite difficult to tell what it is from the pictures, but while it's unlikely it's a crocodile it isn't impossible."
