RSPB respond after 'crocodile' spotted at West Yorkshire nature reserve of over 280 species of birds

The RSPB have responded after a crocodile was 'spotted' at a West Yorkshire nature reserve.
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Lee Collings, 46, told the Yorkshire Evening Post on Monday that he had spotted the 'four foot long croc' in Fairburn Ings.

Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve is a protected area in Yorkshire.

It is noted for its avian biodiversity.

Fairburn IngsFairburn Ings
Fairburn Ings

The reserve has recorded around 280 bird species.

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Lee said had never seen anything similar in over 30 years as a wildlife photographer.

Lee said: "I am 36 years old, and have been a birdwatcher for over 30 years, and I've never seen anything like this, other than a crocodile or alligator.

"It walked like it was rigid.

"It moved slow, but too fast to photograph it.

"By the time I realised what I thought it was. It was 3cto 4 ft in length, and about 4 to 5 inches high

"I'm not bothered about being ridiculed, I'm that confident about what I saw.

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"The only thing that it could be, if there's any in the area is an Otter, but it was moving too slow and rigid."

However, a spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it was the first reported sighting of 'anything like this' at Fairburn Ings.

The spokeswoman said: "It's a pity the photographer wasn't able to get a photo as it would obviously have been a big help in identifying what this was.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first reported sighting of anything like this at Fairburn Ings.

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"As a much-loved wildlife reserve, we have some amazing starling murmurations, a wonderful array of birds and wildlife to see - including sometimes some really rare species - but no crocodiles.

"We'd love to see any attempts from our visitors who manage to snap anything like this at our reserve in the future."

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