Athirappally: A family residing near Athirapally water falls had an unexpected visitor when a crocodile strayed from Chalakudy river and came calling to their home on Wednesday morning.

The crocodile was found lying near a sofa set in the veranda of the house which is just 100 meters away from the banks of Chalakudy river.

After a three hour long duel, the forest officials and locals managed to capture the crocodile.

The crocodile was first spotted by the homemaker of the family when she got up in the morning and was walking towards the veranda. On seeing the crocodile lying near the sofa set, she raised an alarm.

Soon the incident was brought to the notice of forest officials who came to the house. Initially the forest officials tried to shoo the crocodile towards the river but the reptile became aggressive.

After moving around for some time, the reptile got exhausted. At this point the forest officials with the help of locals captured the crocodile. They tied a rope around it and dragged it towards the river. Later it was released into the river.

“Usually children play in the courtyard of the house. Fortunately nothing untoward happened as the crocodile was spotted early morning," said the owner of the house.

Athirapally falls is the largest waterfall in Kerala and the house that the crocodile decided to visit was barely 100 metres from the river side. The crocodile was found at a place which is frequented by tourists. The locals said that crocodiles have been spotted near Chalakudy river even in the past.

Meanwhile, the forest department has asked the tourists to be cautious while entering the river.