There are several video clips going viral online, making rounds on social media platforms and showing what could be a crocodile swimming in the Chemka Hot Springs.
Chemka, is a popular tourist site located at the Kikuletwa Ward of Hai District in Kilimanjaro Region.
It is essentially a wide, deep and large pond, almost a mini lake containing warm and very clear water.
But now, there are new reports (see the video below) claiming that the place could be infested with crocodiles.
These latest developments are signalling danger to tourists and people who love to swim in the water cocoon.
Chemka happens to be a large pond surrounded by trees and filled with naturally occurring bluish warm mineral water.
The water spring originates from the base of Mount Kilimanjaro located about 50 kilometers from the site.
It is a very popular tourist site as local and foreign visitors usually gather there to enjoy a swim in the warm waters and a swing using the canopies.
Named after the nearby village of ‘Chemka,’ the hot Springs are located about 40 kilometers away from Moshi, town and 45 kilometers from Arusha.
These underground springs with warm water, surfaces onto a clear and clean pond which people find ideal for swimming.
Some parts of the pond can get really cavernous, in fact in some places the depth reaches up to 10 meters. However the water is so clear, it is easy to see the bottom all the time.
But some areas would normally get murky and muddy, which means anything lurking beneath there may be invisible and if it is the crocs, then things may get tricky.
But are there crocodiles there?
Andreas Massawe, a resident of Kikuletwa says the pond does have crocodiles, albeit small sized ones not the giant reptiles.
“They are also lighter in colour and seem to come out of their caves at dusk or morning hours,” Massawe explains, adding that these reptiles are mild and hardly attack people.
Former District Commissioner of Hai, Lengai Ole Sabaya, upon hearing about crocodiles in the pool, sent round a team of wildlife officers to investigate but they did not find any at the time.
But there is one Hilal Charlie who does not believe it all, he feels the reptile seen swimming at Chemka could actually be a monitor lizard.
However wildlife experts point out that no monitor lizard is capable of staying in water for more than 30 minutes and certainly not to such depth.
But one Nelson Paul admits that there have been cases of people being attacked by crocodiles in the locality in the past as the area not only features the pond, but also some moderately sized rivers as well.
Then there is Nurdin Iddy Ramadhan who wonders how a crocodile can stay in warm water, adding that in the past, the area was speculated to actually contain snakes.
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