![\"Old](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/e4b79d668bf710247b7ef22113fa730aa68efe8637bd200f1a423dfbeb1c8874.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nLyall said the corporation preferred the crocodile be released to a farm closer to country or to Croc Country Australia, a facility in Babinda, about an hour south of Cairns, which had taken in an icon crocodile from Rinyirru before.<\/p>\n
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Old Faithful in captivity in Cairns.Credit: CROCS<\/p>\n
He wrote to Environment Minister Andrew Powell requesting Old Faithful be released back into the national park in October, and said he spoke with Powell when he visited the park while the crocodiles were at the Cairns facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said in good faith he\u2019d do the right thing, and I believed him,\u201d Lyall said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that crocodile is on the Sunshine Coast \u2014 it goes to show Andrew Powell is nothing but a liar.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo consulting and no transparency from them at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the interaction with Lyall, Powell said he acknowledged the community\u2019s interest in the fate of Old Faithful, and that he would respond to people who contacted him about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI and my department work carefully to ensure human safety and conservation outcomes are met,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department has followed all correct processes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyall said he was not told of Old Faithful\u2019s move to Australia Zoo at the weekend, instead reading about it in a newspaper.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, a department spokesperson said the zoo was chosen after various expressions of interest were received.<\/p>\n
Croc Country Australia owner Jesse Crampton said he had expressed interest to the government in acquiring the crocodile but had not heard back.<\/p>\n
Lyall had been visiting the animals at a holding facility in Cairns, and questioned whether the government even got the right crocodile.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/83723ca482f4b2946c0c841eba7d84602deb95e16179a18f6ca6a337937baafb.jpeg\")
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The smaller crocodile is missing its right back foot.Credit: Alwyn Lyall<\/p>\n
He said the second crocodile, which was underweight and missing a foot and a chunk of its tail, was much more likely to be the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could see he was very underweight, very undernourished,\u201d the Kuku Warra man said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could see he hadn\u2019t had a proper feed in a while.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Old Faithful was taken out of the system, wrongly accused of attacking fishermen when the culprit was right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
A department spokesperson said both crocodiles had been exhibiting dangerous behaviour towards people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do not remove crocodiles from the wild without a genuine and legitimate reason to do so,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Lyall said Old Faithful was not just an icon, but also a totemic animal, making its removal even harder for families connected to it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like going to a funeral, it\u2019s like losing a member of your family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said he would not give his approval to the removal of any more icon crocodiles from the national park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a crocodile starts to be a problem, then we\u2019ll just stop people going there. The visitors are the problem, not the crocodile,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n