A CROC watch surveillance team will stay in place in Mijas. The town council will keep a look-out at the Majada Vieja area of Mijas where a Nile crocodile was found dead last week.

The mayor, Angel Nozal, says that it is a precautionary measure requested by the Guardia Civil, although members of the force say it is unlikely that there is another crocodile in the area.

Local corporation workers have trimmed weeds from the banks of the two main lagoons so that the presence of any animals is easier to spot. The town hall has said that it does not plan to remove signs warning of the presence of the crocodile yet and that someone will remain in the watch tower.

Mijas Local Police provided the search team with thermal cameras to detect the crocodile, but nothing was found. The search was based on the possibility that the tracks found recently may not correspond with those of the Nile crocodile found dead and were thought to belong to an alligator.

Meanwhile, a post mortem examination will be carried out on the crocodile to determine the cause of its death.
Mijas council will request permits which allow them to stuff and preserve the 2.16 metre crocodile which it hopes will then become a tourist attraction.

After examining the body of the crocodile found dead in Majada Vieja, Mijas, experts now doubt that the prints found coincide with this reptile and that there could be a second one still on the loose.

Guadia Civil from SEPRONA have suggested that the warning signs should stay in place and that the surveillance towers not be removed just yet.

Mayor of Mijas, Angel Nozal said, ‘the police have told us that the prints do not match those of the animal found and the witness a 37 year gardener confirmed that it was not the same one that he saw as that was much bigger.’

The Guardia Civil are hoping that the veterinarian who is carrying out the investigation into why and how the first crocodile died will find a microchip or some form of identification to locate the owner.

This morning the body of a dead Nile crocodile was found in Mijas.

The body was found in one of the streams in the area known as Majada Vieja near to the urbanisation of La Mairena by personnel from the Torremolinos Crocodile Park and the Mijas Local Police after several weeks of combing the area. 

The body measuring 2 metres was removed around 1pm.

At present the cause of death is not known, but it is reported to have an injury to its head.

MIJAS will argue in court that the plot where the San Manuel Church in Las Lagunas was built in 1993, belongs to the Bishopric after a land swap deal.

The land was not legally transferred at the time and the Junta de Andalucia now opposes the decision, meaning that the church is not officially registered. 

In exchange for the plot Mijas council received from the Catholic Church some land where an area of the Camino de Campanales was developed. 

AN alligator may have been on the loose in Mijas for 15 years according to locals.

They say that property where a ‘large reptile’ has been spotted formerly belonged to a family that abandoned the area leaving a collection of exotic animals behind.

Experts believe the reptile to be an alligator after examining tracks.

Now newly discovered prints indicate that the alligator may be on the move.

The alligator was spotted almost two months ago in the Majada Vieja area, near La Mairena Urbanisation on the border with Ojen. There are several lagoons in the area, and prints were found last month near one of them.

Experts from the TorremolinosCrocodilePark have found a new set of prints at one of the others, indicating the alligator could have been basking in the sun for a few hours.

The experts believe it has moved following increased presence in the area. Locals have been going to the spot to take photos of the signs put up there warning of the presence of ‘crocodiles’.

A surveillance tower was installed recently to keep watch for the alligator from 11am to 5pm, and prevent people from swimming in the lake or searching the area.

When temperatures reach an average of 20ºC during the day, it is more likely it will come out more often.

The mayor of Mijas, Angel Nozal, said that the alligator is not likely to attack unless it is harmed or feels trapped.

The aim is to catch it alive and give it to the Crocodile Park in Torremolinos. Traps will be set with rotting meat to lure the alligator.  

The reptile is believed to be an adult alligator about two metres long and weighing 70 kilos.

THE sensuality and passion of Buenos Aires with one of the best Tango shows on Friday April 5, will be held at Centro Cultural Villa de Nerja and on Saturday April 6 at Teatro Las Lagunas de Mijas. Producciones Lastra presents a new Tango show as part of the Noches de Tango series that it organises every year on the Costa del Sol.

 A Tango concert in the purest Argentine style, a tour from a remote past, in the origins of those old Tangos born in the ports and growing up in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.

Guitarist Alejandro Picciano, Fernando Giardini on accordian and Federico Peuvrel on piano form a solid trio, presenting magnificent variations on the classics of the genre.

Sponsored by the great singer Mariel Martínez, they present their new album, taking you back to the old spirit of performing Tango just for the pleasure of having fun.

Mariel Martínez was born in Buenos Aires and has lived in Madrid since 2002. She is one of the premier Tango singers in Europe.  ‘Un Placer’ is the third album and was produced by the Litto Nebbia.

With La Porteña Tango Trio or accompanied by the guitarist Alejandro Picciano, in the last three years Mariel has crossed the whole of Spain, Argentina, Russia and Portugal, presenting her discs in theatres and halls, and on several occasions has been to France, Germany and Morocco receiving excellent reviews and public acknowledgement.

 Shows are on Friday April 5 at 9pm in the Centro Cultural Villa de Nerja, C/ Granada 45.

Information and tickets call  95 252 38 63  or  676 929 479.  Opening times for bookings are Monday to Friday from 12pm to 2pm and up to 2 hours on the night before the performance.

 Then on Saturday April 6 at 9pm in the Teatro las Lagunas de Mijas, Camino del Albero 16, Las Lagunas, Mijas Costa (Close to Ciudad Deportiva de Las Lagunas).

For information and tickets call  952 47 25 96  or 676 929 479

Bookings can be made Wednesday to Friday from 5pm to 8pm and up to 2 hours before the show.  Tickets are €12 per person.

THE semi-finals and final of the Costa del Sol Lawn Bowls League President’s cup were held at Lauro Golf.

The semi-finalists were :-

Benalmadena Joe Stamper, John Sullivan, Jim Neilson & Juan Abel

La Posada                   Allen Gateshill, Nick Cummins, Roy Davies & Kathy Hogg

Mijas                           Frank Ball, Mike Glithero, Chris Ryecroft & Pauline Ball

Santa Maria                Chris Hussey, Dale Tomlin, John Bell & Jenny Aldridge

Teams from La Posada and Santa Maria, were paired against their more experienced counterparts. Nerves certainly got the better of Allen’s Four who were 14-0 down to the Mijas quartet after 4 ends. They did settle but were always up against it and finally lost 30-6.

In comparison Chris Hussey’s Team got off to a great start against the favourites and led 5-1. Unfortunately for them, once the dust settled, the vastly experienced Joe and John started to dictate the game and they ran out winners by 26-7.

In the final there was a 22-11 victory for Joe, John, Jim and Juan, new names on the trophy with Juan being the first Spaniard to win the event.  

On a hot and sunny afternoon, a large crowd gathered at Santa Maria to watch the League Cup Final.

Benalmadena was seeking to win the event for a third successive season, and to achieve the coveted League & League Cup double.

The Match did not disappoint as five of the six rinks were very closely contested with three of them going to Benalmadena with a shot difference of +4.

What killed it for Mijas was the superb performance by the President’s Fours Winners. Joe, John & Jim were in awesome form and, from being 16-0 up at five ends, went on to rack up a 36-6 victory to give the Holders an overall 116-82 win.

Commemorative Prizes were presented to both Teams by David Parnell of the Sports Shop. 

A lookout tower similar to those used on beaches will be put up in the area of the lakes around La Mairena to keep watch for the appearance of the 2 metre alligator that has been spotted.

The decision was taken yesterday after a 2 hour meeting between the town hall of Mijas, various members of the Guardia Civil’s nature protection group, Seprona, and other municipal representatives headed by the mayor, Angel Nozal.

During the meeting they discussed the best way to trap the alligator alive, taking into account its size and weight of around 70 kilos.

A video camera was suggested and also draining the lakes, but this idea was dismissed due to the depth of two of them.  It was finally decided that the best solution was to place a  surveillance tower where someone will remain to keep watch. Nozal assured that the tower would be in place during Easter week and remain until June, in Majada de Mijas.

THE prints of a large reptile which could be an alligator were found by a lake in Mijas.

Members of the Guardia Civil Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) have been looking for such an animal in the Majada Vieja area, near La Mairena Urbanization on the border with Ojen, since last month following alerts from local residents.

The reptile is believed to be an adult alligator about two metres long and weighing 70 kilos.

Accompanied by an expert in crocodiles, the officers had visited the lake hoping to see it, but found only prints. Alligators can withstand the low temperatures which would have been registered in the lake during the winter months, whereas a crocodile would not.

Seprona has said that the reptile may now have moved on but pointed out that it is not dangerous unless it is attacked or stepped on, because when it is cold, they don’t eat. However, it will begin to seek food from May or June. If it hasn’t been caught by then, traps will be set. The lake is in a quiet area and it would be easy for an alligator to hide underwater amongst the vegetation for several hours.

Local residents have been asked to keep an eye out for the reptile, which Seprona thinks was abandoned by someone in the area. Officers are now checking for people who collect exotic animals.