Crocodile Australia: Sought-after croc was killed and eaten yesterday

Crocodile Australia: Sought-after croc was killed and eaten yesterday

Perilous saltie shot by police after snatching a lapdog from a NT beach last week
By: Oliver Koester
February 10, 2006
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POLICE Officers shot the perilous crocodile which was stalking dogs and children on a Nothern Territory beach and gave the tail to Pirlangimpi traditional owners for eating.

Officers shot and killed the 3.3m croc at 2:30pm as it lay in water 90m from the beach. An initial shot hit the croc, but officers took a boat to inspect the reptile. It was then shot dead, dragged to the beach and measured. 

Police were given permission by Parks and Wildlife and the Pirlangimpi community to kill the saltie after residents complained it was stalking dogs and children on the beach. People were convinced the crocodile was a threat when it killed a dog on the beach last Sunday. "By the size of it, it was certainly big enough to have taken a small child," Pirlangimpi police Sergeant Rod Godden said.

Residents had noticed the crocodile coming regularly to the beach for the past week. "I stopped walking my dogs along the beach because of the crocodile," resident Liza Adams said. "It was coming really close to the shore." The Melville Island community feared the crocodile would attack children who play on the beach, which is a short walk from houses.

After the saltie was pronounced dead, the tail was cut off and given to Pirlangimpi traditional owners, who celebrated the death of the croc last night by cooking and eating the tail. "It's a bit of a delicacy around here," Sgt Godden said.


Resource: NT News - January 25, 2006