The 50-centimeter-long Siamese crocodile (Yonhap) The owner of a critically endangered Siamese crocodile has been caught, just eight days after one of the world's most exotic reptiles was pulled from a stream in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.The Yeoju Police Station on Tuesday said they booked the man in his 30s on charges of violating the Wildlife Protection and Management Act. The man is accused of purchasing the crocodile for 1.2 million won ($819) from an online community in 2023 and having it delivered by parcel.Officials said the man violated the law by purchasing and keeping the protected animal without authorization.The Siamese crocodile is native to Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It is a medium-sized freshwater species with a distinctive bony ridge on the back of its head.It is listed under Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, reserved for species facing the highest risk of extinction. International commercial trade in wild-caught specimens and their parts is generally prohibited under the regulation.The crocodile was captured by firefighters near Soyangcheon in Chang-dong, Yeoju, at around 11:27 a.m. on July 18. Authorities later transferred the crocodile to the National Institute of Ecology, while police began searching for the man.Investigators tracked the man down on Sunday at his home, near where the crocodile was captured. The man denied abandoning the animal, claiming it disappeared after he let it out in his yard to get some sun about two weeks earlier.Officials also found an alligator snapping turtle at his residence, which is a large, prehistoric-looking freshwater turtle native to the southeastern United States. It is listed under CITES Appendix II as an invasive species in Korea.Police are investigating where the animals came from and attempting to track down the seller.