Traditional owners have called on the Queensland environment minister to return an iconic saltwater crocodile to the wild, arguing his capture was a “wrongful arrest” – but that his case could prove “a landmark” in redefining consultation with First Nations people and the management of crocodiles.
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4 metres, known as “Old Faithful”, from Rinyirru – or Lakefield national park – last month was based on a “flawed and outdated” test of his behaviour and highlighted “a bigger problem in how crocodiles are managed”.
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The letter called on the state government to dismantle all crocodile traps and cease removals from the park – described as “Queensland’s Kakadu” – until the problems highlighted in the case of Old Faithful were resolved.
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 “hazed” by “The Crocodile Hunter” in an effort to instil fear of humans into the big reptile.
Almost 30 years later, the crocodile was captured once again and, this time, removed from Rinyirru on 8 September by wildlife officers. He is being held in a government facility in Cairns, more than 250km south, awaiting transfer to a crocodile farm.
After his removal, the Queensland environment department said they had been monitoring Old Faithful due to reports from the public and observed him “displaying concerning behaviour” in the prized barramundi fishing hole on the Normanby River that has been his territory for decades. So, the department said, the crocodile was “removed to ensure public safety”.
Old Faithful is being held at a government facility in Cairns after his removal from the wild.
Rangers also removed a smaller saltwater crocodile, between 3 metres and 3.5 metres long. The department said the decision to remove both crocodiles was made after consultation with traditional owners.
But in his letter, Lyall wrote that “key information” was “withheld” from traditional owners by the department during that consultation in what he now believes was “the hope of gaining our approval and expediting the removal process for their own agenda”.
“We have reason to believe that Old Faithful was not the crocodile targeted for removal and that the animal reported by the public as the ‘problem crocodile’ was the smaller, emaciated crocodile, also caught during the trapping process,” Lyall wrote in a statement.
“Our board have engaged with many stakeholders and we strongly believe Old Faithful was caught as a wrongful arrest.”
The Kuku Yalanji man wrote that the “simulated fishing test” where a crocodile is lured with bait was “designed to elicit the behaviour needed to warrant removal” and likened it to “constantly throwing bananas at a cassowary at Etty Bay until it feeds, or kicking a dingo on K’gari until it bites”.
“If 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 … You’re gonna get that crocodile’s attention sooner or later,” Lyall said.
The Rinyirru Aboriginal Corporation chair said that big crocodiles like Old Faithful were a major tourist drawcard – but the attraction had proved a double-edged sword.
crocodile on a river bed and in the water
While some were “just happy to see that crocodile on the bank”, others wanted the crocodile “right in front of them”.
“If all of these people are feeding these crocodiles so they can take a photo of it, it makes that crocodile become lazy … it depends on hand outs,” he said. “Then our iconic crocodiles become the problem, because they are just sitting there waiting to be fed.
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“I find that to be very unfair – I think more onus should be coming back to the visitors that come into the park”.
Lyall said he believed the department was “eyeing off” 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 “a problem”.
“For 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,” he wrote.
Lyall wrote that the Rinyirru corporation’s board had engaged crocodile scientists emeritus professor Gordon Grigg and Dr Ross Dwyer and were advised that a captured crocodile could be returned to the wild and that there was precedent for it being done.
“Old Faithful could be 80 or 100 years old – he deserves to live out his life in peace,” Lyall wrote.
“We are asking that Old Faithful be returned home. He doesn’t belong to the Queensland government. He belongs to Rinyirru, and Rinyirru belongs to him.”
The Environmental Defenders Office, acting on behalf of advocacy group Community Representation of Crocodiles (Croc), has requested and is awaiting a statement of reasons from the department to explain Old Faithful’s removal.
A department spokesperson responded to questions with a statement saying “public safety is our top priority” and that the department “extensively monitored the crocodile after reports from the public raising safety concerns”.
“We understand people were using food to lure the animal from the water to take photos,” the spokesperson said. “Habituating crocodiles is detrimental to the animal and dangerous for people.
“The crocodile was displaying repeated and concerning behaviour that was escalating. It was ultimately removed to keep people safe.”
