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Crocodile alarm on Lake Constance: Fire brigade pulls dummy out of pond!
In Konstanz, walkers alerted the fire department about a reptilian head in the pond, which turned out to be a dummy.
Crocodile alarm on Lake Constance: Fire brigade pulls dummy out of pond!
On Friday morning, an unusual incident in Konstanz on Lake Constance caused a stir. Walkers discovered a reptilian head sticking out of a pond and alerted the fire department at 8 a.m. The tireless emergency services, who arrived at the scene just a few minutes later, were quickly on site to investigate the report. Reports from callers suggested it might be a crocodile, which of course immediately raised alarm bells. But what the fire department then discovered was anything but dangerous. Bild.de reports that the head, which seemed very real at first glance, was actually a well-made dummy.
The fire brigade assessed the situation and decided not to take any risks. Using an animal trapping snare on a four-meter-long pole, they carefully pulled the head out of the water. The dummy was found to be attached to a rock, preventing it from aborting. The firefighters were equipped with a variety of equipment such as nets, large mesh boxes and thick gloves and protective clothing in order to be prepared even in the event of a real crocodile. After the “capture operation,” they immediately devised a plan to safely hand the dummy over to the police for further clarification. The Tagesschau mentions that investigating the situation was tricky as only the head was visible and the area had to be secured.
Nonsense with consequences
What initially sounded like a scene from a Hollywood film quickly turned out to be a harmless joke. The owner of the crocodile head contacted the police and explained that it was a dummy that he had placed as part of a prank. The police, who described the incident as “nonsense”, were able to quickly give the all-clear. Despite the shock that it caused among passers-by, everything remained within a framework that ended well for everyone involved.
Such incidents are not only part of urban legends, but also show how much the topic of wildlife protection and illegal wildlife trade dominates current discussions. This crime is the fourth largest cross-border crime industry, according to a study by Interpol and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Huge sums of between 7 and 23 billion US dollars are generated every year. One way to combat these illegal activities is with specially trained animals, such as the African giant hamster rats, which work for the APOPO organization. These rodents are true masters at detecting smuggled animal products and offer quick, cost-effective solutions to support customs and police Riffreporter.
In Konstanz, however, everything remained within the scope of entertainment. For the fire brigade and police it was another chapter in their extensive collection of strange missions, and for the walkers it was a story that they will surely tell for a long time.