Malang’s finders get jobs in town

M’LANG, North Cotabato—Officials here continue to have a hangover over Malang, a freshwater crocodile that brought fame to this mainly agricultural town.

The two fishermen who captured Malang have been hired by the local government as environment watchers.

Mayor Joselito Piñol said the two—Mao Mohalidden and Oman Bojo—would be deployed to the Liguasan Marsh.

Mohalidden and Bojo caught the 2.18-meter Malang on April 12 and turned him over to authorities the next day after failing to collect money for the crocodile.

Prior to Malang’s capture, the largest freshwater crocodile known to have been captured was just about 1.68 meters.

“This is a reward of some sort,” Piñol said of the hiring of the two fishermen.

Piñol said the salaries of the two new employees would be drawn from the town’s general funds.

The two, however, would not be removed from their day job—fishing.

“They can continue fishing while protecting endangered species in the marshland,” said the mayor. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao