Race to find stolen crocodiles

There are fears the crocodiles may be released when they grow bigger

Israeli police are desperately searching for hundreds of missing baby crocodiles stolen from a breeding farm in the south of the country.

Wildlife experts fear the African crocodiles might be released into the country's waterways.

"It is a race against time," a spokesman for the Nature and Parks Authority told Reuters news agency.

The missing crocodiles would grow to a size dangerous to man within three years, he said.

"The concern is they will enter fresh water lakes and rivers where they will be a threat to people and to the environment," he added.

The crocodiles are thought to have been illegally sold as exotic pets.

So far, wildlife officials and police have found 10 of the crocodiles in raids on apartments in central Israel where the baby reptiles were found swimming in bathtubs and sinks, Reuters reported.