Hunt is on for wild young crocodiles that escaped into South African river

The hunt is on for several young crocodiles that escaped from a breeding farm in the Western Cape province of South Africa, authorities said on Thursday after capturing 26 on overnight patrols.

Officials have urged the public to be on the lookout after a large number of young crocodiles escaped from a commercial breeding farm in Bonnievale in the Cape Winelands District.

Twenty of the young Nile crocodiles were recaptured following operations by CapeNature, the landowners in the area, the owner of the crocodile breeding farm and the South African Police Service.

An unknown number of Nile crocodiles, widespread in Africa, escaped from a Bonnievale commercial breeding farm into the Bree River on Wednesday, sparking a hunt involving police, landowners and conservation officials.

The escaped crocodiles, with a reputation as man-eaters, are 1.2 and 1.5 metres in length, authorities said.

"We've captured 26 at this point but I can't say how many are still on the loose," said Petro van Rhyn, a spokeswoman for CapeNature conversation agency on Thursday.

Bred mainly for leather products, the freshwater crocodiles can grow to an average length of five metres, with adult males weighing more than half a tonne.

"They present medium danger to people because they are farmed animals used to regular feeding and do not hunt for food, but they are wild and instinctive animals," said Western Cape provincial government spokesman James-Brent Styan, urging people to steer clear of the river.