Crocodile made famous by Steve Irwin ‘wrongfully arrested’ and should be returned to wild, traditional owners say | Queensland

Traditional crocodile owners have called on Queensland’s environment minister to return an iconic saltwater crocodile to the wild, saying its capture was an “unfair detention” but arguing the case could be a “turning point” in redefining consultation with First Nations people and crocodile management.

Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation chairman Alwyn Lyall said in a letter to environment minister Andrew Powell on Friday that the removal of a 4m-plus-long crocodile known as “Old Faithful” from Rinyirru – or Lakefield national park – last month was based on a “flawed and outdated” test of its behavior and a “larger view of how crocodiles are managed.” He underlined the problem.

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The letter called on the state government to dismantle all crocodile traps and halt removals from the park, described as “Queensland’s Cockatoo”, until the issues highlighted in the Old Faithful case are resolved.

The crocodile Lyall wrote about was about 15 feet long, had a distinctive white scar on its belly and chin, and was made famous in Steve Irwin’s 1990s series, when Old Faithful was “threatened” by the “Crocodile Hunter” in an attempt to instil a fear of humans in the large reptile.

Almost 30 years later the crocodile was captured once again and this time removed from Rinyirru by wildlife officials on 8 September. He is being held at a government facility in Cairns, 250 kilometers to the south, awaiting transfer to a crocodile farm.

Following his dismissal, Queensland’s environment department said they were monitoring Old Faithful due to reports from the public and observed him “exhibiting concerning behaviour” at the prized barramundi fishing spot on the Normanby River, which had been his territory for decades. The department said the alligator was “removed to ensure public safety.”

Rangers also removed a smaller saltwater crocodile between 10 and 12 feet long. The ministry said the decision to remove both crocodiles was taken after consultation with traditional owners.

However, in his letter, Lyall wrote that “important information” had been “hidden” from traditional owners by the ministry during this consultation; He believes this is now “the hope of gaining our approval and expediting the removal process for their own agenda.”

“We have reason to believe that Old Faithful is not the alligator targeted for removal and that the animal reported by the public as a ‘problem alligator’ is a smaller, emaciated alligator that was also captured during the trapping process,” Lyall wrote in a statement.

“Our board has engaged with many stakeholders and we firmly believe that Old Faithful was captured for a wrongful arrest.”

The Kuku Warra man wrote that a “simulated fishing test” in which a crocodile is lured with bait was “designed to elicit the behavior required to ensure its elimination”, likening it to “consistently throwing bananas at an ostrich in Etty Bay until it feeds, or kicking a dingo until it bites K’gari”.

“If you hook a barramundi on a piece of rope and drag it back in and throw it out again and drag it in again and throw it out… sooner or later you’re going to get that crocodile’s attention,” Lyall said.

Rinyirru Aboriginal Corporation chairman said large crocodiles such as Old Faithful were a major tourist attraction but the attraction was proving to be a double-edged sword.

While some were “happy to see the crocodile on the shore,” others wanted the crocodile to be “right in front of you.”

“If all of these people are feeding these alligators so they can take pictures of them, it’s going to make the alligator lazy…it depends on the distribution,” he said. “Then our iconic alligators become a problem because they just sit there waiting to be fed.

“I find this very unfair; I think visitors to the park should be given more responsibility.”

Lyall said he believed the department was “monitoring” three other large crocodiles from Rinyirru because of the behavior of visitors and the standard of testing used to determine whether a crocodile was a “problem”.

“Our board has therefore asked the Queensland government to halt further removal and remove the traps installed in the park until a better plan is developed,” he wrote.

Lyall said the Rinyirru company’s board includes crocodile scientists Emeritus Professor Gordon Grigg and Dr. He wrote that he met with Ross Dwyer and was advised that a captured alligator could be returned to the wild and that there was a precedent for doing so.

“Old Faithful may be 80 or 100 years old; he deserves to live his life in peace,” Lyall wrote.

“We want Old Faithful to come back home. He doesn’t belong to the Queensland government. He belongs to Rinyirru and Rinyirru belongs to him.”

The Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of the advocacy group Community Representation of Crocodiles (Croc), has requested and is awaiting a statement of cause from the department to explain the removal of Old Faithful.

A ministry spokesperson responded to questions with a statement that “public safety is our top priority” and said the ministry was “extensively monitoring the crocodile following reports from the public raising safety concerns.”

“We understand that people used food to lure the animal out of the water to take photographs,” the spokesman said. “The habituation of crocodiles is harmful to animals and dangerous to humans.

“The crocodile was exhibiting repeated and increasingly alarming behavior. It was eventually removed to keep people safe.”