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<\/p>\nA West Australian police officer has recounted the moment he captured a snappy freshwater crocodile from a Kimberley backyard.<\/p>\n
The scaly encounter, dubbed “Operation Crocodile”, occurred late last month at a Junjuwa home, on the outskirts of Fitzroy Crossing, about 2,400 kilometres north of Perth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fitzroy Crossing police officer-in-charge Mark Howes said he headed to the property after colleagues were flagged down by shocked residents.<\/p>\n
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Residents in Fitzroy Crossing received a shock when a freshwater crocodile turned up on a front porch. (Supplied: WA Police)<\/p>\n
“A staff member rang me and goes: ‘Hey boss, do you know who gets rid of crocodiles in Fitzroy Crossing?’,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I made a couple of phone calls and no-one was available, so I went down there and had a go myself.”<\/p>\n
Croc waiting on porch<\/p>\n
Senior Sergeant Howes said the reptile, believed to be about a metre in length, was waiting on the front porch when he arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hoping to push the croc “out the front gate” and guide it to the river, the officer’s plan was foiled after the freshie absconded to the backyard.<\/p>\n
“I picked up the shovel and, of course, best laid plans, it went out the back of the house where there’s no gate,” Senior Sergeant Howes said.<\/p>\n
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Senior Sergeant Mark Howes came to the rescue after a crocodile was found in a resident’s backyard. (Supplied: WA Police)<\/p>\n
After finding a “piece of metal with a fork on the bottom”, the outback police officer managed to pick the crocodile up under its front leg.<\/p>\n
“It gave me enough time to jump in behind it and grab it so it didn’t bite me,” he said.<\/p>\n
With a firm grip around its neck, Senior Sergeant Howes emerged safely from the backyard, in front of bewildered onlookers, who can be heard laughing and giggling throughout the ordeal.<\/p>\n
The crocodile was soon loaded into the back of a police wagon.<\/p>\n
While the croc was relocated back to the river without incident, the officer said the snappy reptile was not overly compliant.<\/p>\n
“It still had sharp teeth and it was having a red hot crack at me,” Senior Sergeant Howes said.<\/p>\n
It is not the first time remote police officers in the town have attended crocodile call-outs.\u00a0<\/p>\n