March 2 (UPI) — A rescue team from Australian Reptile Park successfully captured a freshwater crocodile found swimming hundreds of miles south of its usual range.
Billy Collett, who led the rescue team, said he was shocked to hear a crocodile had been spotted in Ironbark Creek in Wallsend, New South Wales on Saturday.
“We got a phone call from the police in Newcastle saying there was a croc on the loose behind Bunnings at Wallsend and I thought, you’ve got to be joking me,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He said crocodiles are not found in the wild that far south, and the approaching colder temperatures would have likely put the animal’s life at risk.
Rescuers were unable to locate the crocodile Saturday, but Collett was able to spot it the next day.
“It was a really long jump that I had to do … I just dove into the [water],” he said. “I had a head torch that had come off when I hit the water and just everything just went dark. I got a hand on him mid-body and yeah, I couldn’t believe it, I caught him.”
Collett said the croc was most likely an escaped pet.
“There’s no way he’s booked a flight from Darwin [in the Northern Territory] and come down and landed at Newcastle,” he said. “So he’s likely an escaped pet, whether that was legally housed or illegally housed.”
The crocodile is being assessed by a veterinarian and officials will then determine where it will end up.
