Anyone who succeeds in freeing a wild crocodile from a tyre stuck around its neck in Indonesia will receive a reward from a local conservation group.

The Central Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) told local media they launched the “contest” to outsource help in finding and rescuing the crocodile in question.

The four-metre-long crocodile, believed to be a critically endangered Siamese crocodile, has been seen in Palu River and Palu Bay in the Central Sulawesi province and was first seen stuck in the rubber hoop in 2016.

It survived the tsunami and earthquake that devastated the province’s capital city, Palu, in 2018 but the tyre has not budged. Wildlife activists are concerned the reptile may grow and eventually be strangled by the tyre.

BKSDA chief in the province, Hasmuni Hasmar, said: “A reward will be given to anyone who can release the hapless reptile.”

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The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-15.jpg Two brothers play a handmade musical instrument in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-2.jpg A woman washes clothes in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-14.jpg A family travel down the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-10.jpg A man smokes a pipe in his home in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-1.jpg Three boys play a game in the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-4.jpg A fisherman and his daughter on the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-8.jpg Brothers play in the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-17.jpg The son of a shepherd tends to the sheep in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-12.jpg Brothers play while helping out transporting cattle in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-7.jpg A sister carries her brother on her back down to the river in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-9.jpg A father talks to his son below the canopy of trees in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-16.jpg A poultry farmer blows water on a chicken in the heat in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-11.jpg Children help their mum to catch fish on the Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rural Indonesia: Cinematic pictures of every day life RURAL-INDONESIA-3.jpg Three brothers help out transporting cattle in West Java, Indonesia. See SWNS copy SWCAindonesia: These beautiful photos show people in a rural Indonesian community going about their every day life. The cinematic pictures show mother's tending to livestock and cooking food while children happily play in the nearby river. Taken in the West Java province of Indonesia, the photos show the "simple and peaceful" lifestyle of the local people. Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com Rarindra Prakarsa / SWNS.com

Mr Hasmar did not specify what the reward would entail, but added that previous attempts to free the reptile were unsuccessful.

The group set a crocodile trap with meat to lure the wily reptile before the disasters in 2018 but failed to entice it. They also enlisted the help of a non-profit organisation from Australia but “it also failed to save the crocodile”.

A local celebrity conservationist, Muhammad Panji – known as Panji the Adventurer – also attempted to rescue the animal in 2018 but his efforts were futile.

Central Sulawesi governor Longki Djanggola told the Jakarta Post: “The BKSDA has a lot of work to do, part of it being [the search for] the missing crocodile with the tyre.