Massive crocodile taken to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo despite traditional owners’ anger over removal | Queensland

One “iconic” saltwater crocodile Almost two months after its controversial removal from its far north Queensland habitat, it was transported more than 1,600km to the Australia Zoo made famous by Steve Irwin.

But while the Sunshine Coast zoo said it was proud to be the “eternal home” of Old Faithful, as the more than 4m long crocodile is known, traditional animal owners said they were “deeply saddened” by what conservationists described as a “cover-up”.

Australia Zoo announced via a social media video on Monday morning that the crocodile had arrived at its facility near the Glasshouse Mountains in south-east Queensland.

The clip begins with footage of the late Steve Irwin catching Old Faithful at its eponymous waterhole in Rinyirru (or Lakefield national park), as depicted in the mid-1990s television series The Crocodile Hunter.

In this episode, Irwin “threatened” the apex predator before returning it to his home on the Normanby River, in an attempt to instil fear of humans in the large reptile and thus avoid conflict with fishermen; it’s a pioneering experiment that appears to have been successful for almost two decades.

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But this coexistence was revealed on September 8, when Old Faithful and a second, albeit smaller, alligator were removed from the river by wildlife officials.

It comes after Queensland’s Department of Environment said it had received repeated reports of the crocodile’s behavior increasing “as a direct result of being fed by humans”.

In the social media video, Australia Zoo’s Toby Millyard said the crocodile research team he led initially hoped Old Faithful would be released back into its natural habitat.

“When we heard he was non-releasable, we offered to give him a home because we know we can give him the best of the best for the rest of his life,” Millyard said.

But Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation chairman Alwyn Lyall said he was saddened and “angry” to learn this “important and totemic” thing had happened on Monday morning. animal was taken far from his country and its traditional owners.

“This crocodile comes from here in Cape York,” Lyall said. “The zoo is the wrong place for this animal.

“To get him away for the weekend [any] A notice or notification or anything to us traditional owners – rubbish like a thief in the night?

“We never let this happen.”

Lyall said if the crocodile had to be rehomed, he would prefer Old Faithful go to a facility at Babinda, less than 400km south, that is more accessible to traditional owners. Croc Country Australia also offers training courses with Indigenous rangers and is home to another iconic crocodile recovered from Rinyirru.

Owner Jesse Crampton confirmed that he had expressed interest in hosting Old Faithful.

Crampton said he set up the facility to address the “housing crisis” specifically for crocodiles, which are considered iconic under Queensland law (over 4 meters long) but are also considered a problem by authorities.

“We have a purpose-built, newly established alligator facility designed to house iconic alligators for these types of scenarios,” he said.

In September, the Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of the advocacy group Community Representation of Crocodiles (Croc), filed a request explaining the reasons for Old Faithful’s removal.

Croc co-founder Amanda French said the department asked for the request to be extended through Wednesday but was also “expediting the paperwork and shipping logistics” to move Old Faithful. This, he said, amounted to a “cover-up of mistakes” made during wilderness removal that lacked “transparency” and “cultural authority.”

He said Old Faithful would undoubtedly provide a “huge commercial opportunity” for the zoo.

“It is extremely sad that a crocodile who managed to survive for decades in the wild, swim great distances, eat whatever he wants, and mate with whomever he wants, is now sentenced to a life sentence. [captivity] … for tourists [amusement]”said the Frenchman.

A department spokesman confirmed the smaller reptile captured along with Old Faithful had been moved to a crocodile farm in northern Queensland.