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<\/p>\nA huge crocodile that helped propel Steve Irwin to international fame in the 1990s has been transported 1,200 miles to the late conservationist\u2019s family zoo, infuriating northern Australia\u2019s Aborigines.<\/p>\n
Irwin, who died in 2006 after being attacked by stingray, captured and released the crocodile, known as Old Faithful, in his show Crocodile Hunter in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n
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In that episode, Irwin \u201chazed\u201d the crocodile by exposing it to boats, lights and other human activity before returning him to distant wilderness to instil in the reptile a fear of people that would cause it to avoid anglers. The experiment appeared to have been successful for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n
The Irwin family\u2019s Australia Zoo, located 50 miles north of Brisbane, announced on Instagram this weekend that Old Faithful, believed to be about 80 years old, was back in captivity. <\/p>\n
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Australia Zoo is run by Irwin\u2019s family and has about 700,000 visitors a year<\/p>\n
RODGER SHAGAM\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
The crocodile\u2019s removal from Rinyirru National Park has infuriated Aborigines who claim they were not consulted and have threatened to ban visiting recreational anglers from their lands in retaliation. <\/p>\n
Alwyn Lyall, the chairman of Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation, told SBS World News: \u201cOld Faithful is a totemic animal for the Kuku Warra Aboriginal people and some family members have very strong cultural connections to Old Faithful. A zoo is the wrong place for that animal.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo remove him over the weekend without notice or notification to us traditional owners, or anything, it\u2019s like a thief in the night sort of rubbish.\u201d he said. \u201cWe never gave the authority for that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toby Millyard, one of the zookeepers, said the crocodile had recently been behaving in a way threatening to humans visiting the park, leading to its capture in September by Queensland government wildlife officers.<\/p>\n
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Old Faithful was \u201cunreleaseable\u201d because of his deteriorating behaviour, Australia Zoo claims<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hopeful that Old Faithful could have been released back into his habitat at Rinyirru National Park,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we heard that he was unreleaseable we jumped in and offered to give him a home because we know that we can give him the best of the best for the rest of his life and to avoid him going to a crocodile farm.<\/p>\n
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