{"id":203742,"date":"2025-10-10T22:39:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/203742\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T22:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:39:06","slug":"crocodile-made-famous-by-steve-irwin-wrongfully-arrested-and-should-be-returned-to-wild-traditional-owners-say-queensland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/203742\/","title":{"rendered":"Crocodile made famous by Steve Irwin \u2018wrongfully arrested\u2019 and should be returned to wild, traditional owners say | Queensland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traditional owners have called on the Queensland<\/a> environment minister to return an iconic saltwater crocodile to the wild, arguing his capture was a \u201cwrongful arrest\u201d \u2013 but that his case could prove \u201ca landmark\u201d in redefining consultation with First Nations people and the management of crocodiles.<\/p>\n

Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation chair, Alwyn Lyall, wrote to the environment minister, Andrew Powell, on Friday saying the removal of a crocodile longer than 4 metres, known as \u201cOld Faithful\u201d, from Rinyirru \u2013 or Lakefield national park \u2013 last month was based on a \u201cflawed and outdated\u201d test of his behaviour and highlighted \u201ca bigger problem in how crocodiles are managed\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The letter called on the state government to dismantle all crocodile traps and cease removals from the park \u2013 described as \u201cQueensland\u2019s Kakadu\u201d \u2013 until the problems highlighted in the case of Old Faithful were resolved.<\/p>\n

The crocodile, which Lyall wrote was about 4.5 metres long, has a distinctive white scar across his belly and jaw and was made famous by Steve Irwin in his 1990s series, when Old Faithful was \u201chazed\u201d by \u201cThe Crocodile Hunter\u201d in an effort to instil fear of humans into the big reptile.<\/p>\n

Almost 30 years later, the crocodile was captured once again and, this time, removed from Rinyirru on 8 September by wildlife officers<\/a>. He is being held in a government facility in Cairns, more than 250km south, awaiting transfer to a crocodile farm.<\/p>\n

After his removal, the Queensland environment department said they had been monitoring Old Faithful due to reports from the public and observed him \u201cdisplaying concerning behaviour\u201d in the prized barramundi fishing hole on the Normanby River that has been his territory for decades. So, the department said, the crocodile was \u201cremoved to ensure public safety\u201d.<\/p>\n

Old Faithful is being held at a government facility in Cairns after his removal from the wild. <\/p>\n

Rangers also removed a smaller saltwater crocodile, between 3metres and 3.5m metres long. The department said the decision to remove both crocodiles was made after consultation with traditional owners.<\/p>\n

But in his letter, Lyall wrote that \u201ckey information\u201d was \u201cwithheld\u201d from traditional owners by the department during that consultation in what he now believes was \u201cthe hope of gaining our approval and expediting the removal process for their own agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have reason to believe that Old Faithful was not the crocodile targeted for removal and that the animal reported by the public as the \u2018problem crocodile\u2019 was the smaller, emaciated crocodile, also caught during the trapping process,\u201d Lyall wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur board have engaged with many stakeholders and we strongly believe Old Faithful was caught as a wrongful arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kuku Yalanji man wrote that the \u201csimulated fishing test\u201d where a crocodile is lured with bait was \u201cdesigned to elicit the behaviour needed to warrant removal\u201d and likened it to \u201cconstantly throwing bananas at a cassowary at Etty Bay until it feeds, or kicking a dingo on K\u2019gari<\/a> until it bites\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you throw a barramundi out on a piece of rope and drag it back in and throw it out again and drag it back in and throw it out \u2026 You\u2019re gonna get that crocodile\u2019s attention sooner or later,\u201d Lyall said.<\/p>\n

The Rinyirru Aboriginal Corporation chair said that big crocodiles like Old Faithful were a major tourist drawcard \u2013 but the attraction had proved a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n

crocodile on a river bed and in the water<\/a><\/p>\n

While some were \u201cjust happy to see that crocodile on the bank\u201d, others wanted the crocodile \u201cright in front of them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf all of these people are feeding these crocodiles so they can take a photo of it, it makes that crocodile become lazy \u2026 it depends on hand outs,\u201d he said. \u201cThen our iconic crocodiles become the problem, because they are just sitting there waiting to be fed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI find that to be very unfair \u2013 I think more onus should be coming back to the visitors that come into the park\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lyall said he believed the department was \u201ceyeing off\u201d another three big crocodiles from Rinyirru as a result of the behaviour of visitors and the standard of tests used to determine if a crocodile was \u201ca problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor that reason, our board have asked the Queensland government to halt any further removals and to dismantle traps currently set in the park until a better plan is developed,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Lyall wrote that the Rinyirru corporation\u2019s board had engaged crocodile scientists emeritus professor Gordon Grigg and Dr and were advised that a captured crocodile could be returned to the wild and that there was precedent for it being done.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Faithful could be 80 or 100 years old \u2013 he deserves to live out his life in peace,\u201d Lyall wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are asking that Old Faithful be returned home. He doesn\u2019t belong to the Queensland government. He belongs to Rinyirru, and Rinyirru belongs to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of advocacy group Community Representation of Crocodiles<\/a> (Croc), has requested and is awaiting a statement of reasons from the department to explain Old Faithful\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n

A department spokesperson responded to questions with a statement saying \u201cpublic safety is our top priority\u201d and that the department \u201cextensively monitored the crocodile after reports from the public raising safety concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand people were using food to lure the animal from the water to take photos,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cHabituating crocodiles is detrimental to the animal and dangerous for people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crocodile was displaying repeated and concerning behaviour that was escalating. It was ultimately removed to keep people safe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Traditional owners have called on the Queensland environment minister to return an iconic saltwater crocodile to the wild,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-203742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}