POLICE have been called in after a ‘giant reptile’ was spotted beside a lake near La Cala de Mijas.

The Guardia Civil’s nature protection arm Seprona is investigating the sighting of what is believed to be a crocodile living in the lake, just inland from the coast.

It comes after Mario Calvente, a gardener from Marbella came across the beast in a clearing, dozing in the sun.

Sitting beside the lake, which sits on the border of Mijas, Marbella and Ojen, it came as a massive shock.

“I know what I saw, it wasn’t an iguana. It was two metres long, with a big snout and small eyes on top of its head,” he explained.

The sound of his moped woke up the relaxed reptile, which slid off slowly into the water.

Unfortunately the gardener didn’t get any snaps of the croc.

“I didn’t want to hang around,” he admitted.

“The area’s labyrinth of streams and lakes is perfect for fishing… or it used to be.

“People came here to fish until a year ago,” recounted Calvente.

“In fact we have been noticing that the fish were disappearing. I don’t think it’s a co-incidence…”

He believes it could be a crocodile that’s been abandoned or a circus escapee that has retired in La Cala.

Subscribe to the Olive Press

1 COMMENT

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.