Crocs Escape in Monsoon Rains November 5, 2001 9:22 am EST BANGKOK (Reuters) - Villagers living near a crocodile farm near Thailand's seaside resort of Pattaya were keeping a close eye on their children on Monday after monsoon rains allowed several large crocs to escape. Crocodile farm director Suan Panomwattanakul told Reuters his men were taking calls from panicked residents, many of whom thought they had sighted the runaway reptiles. "After two hours of rain last week, a one-meter (three-ft) hole opened up under the fence at one pond keeping about 2,000 crocs. Luckily, only six escaped into nearby rice paddy fields," Suan said. He said four of the crocs had since been rounded up, but two large ones were on the loose. Suan said his farm had installed new nets around the ponds to placate jittery neighbors. "We will take responsibility for any harm done to our neighbors," he said. "They claim to have sighted crocodiles four km (two and a half miles) away but they turned out to be monitor lizards."