After a two-day search for a very lost freshwater crocodile that was spotted thousands of kilometres from home, experienced croc handler Billy Collett jumped from his tinnie into the murky waters of Newcastle’s Iron Bark Creek. He emerged with the small, female crocodile in his hands to a raucous celebration with his Australian Reptile Park colleagues. ‘if you knew the needle in the haystack we have persued for the last 48 hours … I feel like I’m gonna start crying,’ Collett said.
The croc was first spotted by a group of teenagers who alerted local authorities. Collett said the biggest concern was for the animal’s welfare as the reptile was so far from its usual habitat: ‘I I feel like we’ve saved [its] life.’
Disbelief as crocodile captured in Newcastle creek thousands of kilometres from natural habitat
