Despite the major operation to capture him, Sifis the Cretan Croc continues to avoid the traps set up by the Greek Disaster Management Special Unit and is still at large.

The six foot long creature was spotted approximately two weeks ago in the region of Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete and wan nicknamed Sifis – a popular name for Cretan males.

“We are trying several different methods with persistence and patience. If these won’t work we will move on to the back-up plan which involves the use of rope and net,” Regional water management official Vangelis Mamangakis told Ethnos newspaper.

Sifis’ fate will be decided on Thursday at an experts meeting to be held in Rethymno.

In the meantime, tourists are arriving in Crete in droves to admire and photograph the wild creature.

As a result, many locals express the wish that Sifis remains uncaught, as he has become something of an attraction.