This year, residents in several Chinese cities have been on high alert over escaped exotic pets.

In August, a crocodile was spotted in a public swimming pool at a residential area in Beijing, prompting residents to call the capital's Center for the Protection of Aquatic Animals.

The crocodile was a species that originated in Southeast Asia, the center said on its website. It was about 50 cm long and a threat to people, especially children.

One month earlier, a 1.3-meter-long giant salamander, a reptile that is under national protection, was found in a high-end residential area in Beijing's Xicheng district.

The animal was so weak it could barely move when it was found, said the center, which was called out to capture it.

"Apparently, it was kept as a pet but abandoned by its owner after it became sick," the center said on its website.

Also in August, a man in Beijing whose pet crocodile had grown to 1 meter long called police for help, Beijing Morning Post reported.

The man bought the crocodile at a pet market in Beijing several years ago, when it was much smaller. The crocodile was sent to a zoo, the report said.

In the same month, a woman in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, posted a notice at her residential area saying her 3-meter Burmese python had escaped from its cage, Yangtze Evening News reported.

This caused panic in the residential area, and some people called police for help.

The snake was discovered on a nearby awning and sent to a zoo because it is a nationally protected species.