Singapore  - Nature lovers were on the prowl Wednesday for a crocodile spotted in a Singapore park to make sure it comes to no harm if caught.

The metre-long reptile has been seen in a mangrove swamp in Pasir Ris Park and other locales over the last two weeks, triggering efforts by the National Parks Board to trap the animal.

Curious onlookers are eager to take pictures.

Among them is KC Wong, who wants "to see the crocodile in its natural habitat before someone does something to it," he told The Straits Times. "After all, Singapore has so little wildlife left."

There have been no known escapes from the two crocodile farms in the city-state.

Experts told the newspaper that the reptile is likely to be an estuarine crocodile, more commonly known as the saltwater crocodile. It is more commonly found in the neighbouring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The species can be caught by placing nets in the water where they have been seen, or by setting up cages with bait.

"The species can travel in the seas from one island to the next," Biswajit Guha, a zoologist at the Singapore Zoo, was quoted as saying. (dpa)