A crocodile fatally attacked a 13-year-old boy in Indonesia after he went into a river to recover a soccer ball that had gone into the water while he was playing an evening match with his peers.
Muhammad Abidzhar, nicknamed Habi by his peers, went into the water close to the Kutai Lama harbor pier in Anggana District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, on March 29, 2026, at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time. The youngsters had been swimming and playing with a ball when it went into the crocodile-inhabited waterway. Abidzhar offered to get it, a choice that proved fatal.
His terrified friends heard only one scream before the boy disappeared under the dark surface, dragged down by a predator that had been lurking from beneath. The children ran to their village to notify the authorities.
Meiry Sulindra, head of the Anggana Fire and Rescue Post, verified that his team got the report shortly before maghrib prayers. “The incident happened around 5:30 p.m.,” Sulindra told reporters. Personnel from the Anggana Fire and Rescue unit immediately launched a search operation using rubber boats to sweep the area around the harbor pier.
The search went on through the night and into the next day, complicated by powerful currents and tidal changes. Rescuers observed several crocodiles surfacing during the operation, a stark reminder of just how dangerous these waters had become.
Abidzhar’s body was found around 8 p.m. on Monday, March 30, floating about 1.6 kilometers downstream from where he had gone into the water. Rescue crews in the center of the river evacuated his remains and transported them directly to his family home.
An examination showed multiple injuries consistent with a crocodile attack, including wounds to the boy’s jaw and back.
The incident emphasizes the increasing danger of human-crocodile conflicts in East Kalimantan and across Indonesia. The archipelago is home to four recognized crocodilian species, with the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) responsible for the vast majority of attacks on humans. These apex predators can exceed six meters in length and are extremely territorial, thriving in the region’s rivers, mangrove forests, and coastal waters.
Indonesia leads the world in crocodile attacks by a staggering margin. Between 2015 and 2024, 1,167 people in Indonesia were attacked by crocodiles, resulting in 556 fatalities, far more than any other country, according to the CrocAttack database. East Kalimantan alone recorded 102 attacks with 54 deaths during that period, making it one of the most dangerous provinces in the nation.
Conservationists identify several factors driving crocodiles closer to human settlements. Overfishing has depleted the predators’ natural food sources, forcing them to hunt in areas they previously avoided. Habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into agricultural land has further reduced their territory. Palm oil plantation canals and other waterway modifications have created new crocodile habitats in populated areas.
Widespread tin mining operations—particularly in provinces like Bangka-Belitung—have also pushed villagers to encroach on crocodile habitats, creating dangerous proximity between people and the apex predators. Many residents in developing areas still rely on rivers for bathing, fishing, and daily activities, increasing their vulnerability to attacks.
This tragedy represents the latest in a series of fatal crocodile attacks across Indonesia in recent months. In March 2025, 10-year-old Fikri Qurniawansyah was mauled to death while riding a makeshift canoe with friends in Riau province. The boy placed his hand in the water before a crocodile clamped down on his arm and dragged him beneath the surface.
Search teams located and killed a crocodile believed responsible for that attack, but when they cut open its stomach, they found it empty. Fikri’s body was eventually discovered floating face-down in the river by a local farmer. A medical examination revealed multiple bruises consistent with a “death roll”—the violent spinning technique crocodiles use to subdue prey.
The frequency of such incidents has generated concern among local authorities and wildlife experts. Crocodile populations in Indonesia have rebounded since large-scale hunting was banned in the late 1990s, but the lack of warning systems and protective measures poses a significant challenge in minimizing conflicts.
Attacks are especially concentrated in East Kalimantan on Borneo and Bangka-Belitung off Sumatra. The often-illegal tin mining in Bangka-Belitung has created numerous artificial bodies of water that serve as ideal habitat for crocodiles seeking new hunting grounds.
The waterways around Kutai Kartanegara Regency, where Abidzhar died, serve as critical habitat for these predators while simultaneously functioning as a lifeline for local communities who depend on them for transportation, fishing, and daily activities. This overlap creates inevitable conflict between humans and one of nature’s most formidable predators.
Local officials have urged residents to exercise extreme caution near waterways, particularly during dawn and dusk when crocodiles are most active. Authorities have asked the public to report any crocodile sightings immediately so preventive action can be taken.
Abidzhar’s death underscores the tragic cost of Indonesia’s ongoing human-wildlife conflict and the urgent need for coordinated efforts to protect both human communities and the crocodile populations that share their environment.
