Original story at ABC News
The game is up for an elusive freshwater crocodile that has been giving authorities the slip in Birdsville in south-west Queensland.
he freshwater crocodile is being removed from the Diamantina River near Birdsville and taken to Dreamworld. Photo: Sandra McShane via ABC News
Concerns had been raised about a threat posed by the crocodile to visitors to the Birdsville races next month.
Council officers and park rangers had been trying to trap the crocodile for nearly a fortnight and council planned to shoot it if it was not caught by the end of the month.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife ranger Don Rowlands says everyone was about to give up yesterday, when volunteer crocodile catcher James Brough jumped into the water and grabbed it by the snout.
“There was mud and water and splashing and all sorts of things going on,” he said.
“It was quite exciting, you know, he is only a metre long poor, little fellow.
“It’s a pretty happy day for all of us here. It [would have been] a sad thing to see this poor creature be shot for no good reason.
“It’s a good outcome and the crocodile is now going to be relocated to a new home.”
Mr Rowlands says Mr Brough is a brave man.
“[The crocodile] went under the water and we thought ‘oh bugger, he might of slipped back through’, so we jumped into the water and there he was and we grabbed him by the snout,” he said of the capture.
“He done the crocodile roll, he put up a bit of struggle, but James is a professional catcher so it went pretty well otherwise.”
The reptile will be moved to a temporary home at a Gold Coast theme park.
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