Australia: Massive 14-foot-long crocodile rescued from tourist destination

Wildlife rangers in Australia’s Northern Territory have trapped a 4.4-meter (14.5-foot) saltwater crocodile. This crocodile is the biggest caught in the area in years, a wildlife ranger said on August 31. Kathrine’s town’s senior wildlife ranger John Burke said the 350-kilogram (770-pound) male was caught in the Flora River at a remote nature park 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the Outback town of Katherine.

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Three years ago, a large 4.7-meter-long crocodile was trapped in the same wildlife management zone, but that one was caught in the Katherine River, which is closer to the sea, Burke said. He said he did not know of a larger croc caught in the Flora River. Numbers of crocodiles have been increasing across Australia’s tropical north since the federal law was made to protected species in the early 1970s.

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“They certainly are increasing (in number), and that’s part of the reason we have the management zones — to reduce the numbers in high-visitation areas so there’s less chance of interaction between salties and people,” Burke said, referring to saltwater crocs.

The captured croc had been taken to a crocodile farm to become part of a breeding program. Farmed crocodiles can be killed for their meat and leather. The crocs are trapped in large cages baited with wild pig and other meats and submerged in waterways.

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Five-foot-long Crocodile Rescued

Two weeks ago, a five-foot-long crocodile was rescued from a residential area in Gujarat's Vadodara city after locals spotted the huge reptile under a public bench. According to reports, officials from the Gujarat Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) were sent to the spot to carry out the rescue operations, which they successfully did. News agency ANI shared the video of the rescue operation, where two volunteers from GSPCA can be seen bringing the crocodile under control by using a tool and a sack. As per reports, the GSPCA received a phone call from local residents at around 6 am on August 16 following which they carried out the rescue operation without causing any harm to the reptile.

(Image Credit-AP)

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