Police officers turned into crocodile hunters on Australia Day, after a rogue reptile was found wandering down the main street of a north Australian country town.
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Western Australia police said they were alerted to the three metre crocodile in the heart of Fitzroy Crossing at 2am.
A video, filmed by resident Jaye Bedford, shows an officer unsuccessfully trying to subdue the animal with a wet towel, but the failed attempt only aggravated the deadly predator.
"Concerned for the safety of the public, officers attempted to contain the crocodile's movements using several techniques, which were not effective due to the crocodile's active response to those attempts," WA police said.
After enlisting the help of a local volunteer wildlife expert from Wild Life West, the croc was successfully tranquilised before being relocated to a river.
"(Wildlife expert) Tamela cares for injured animals and without her assistance it is believed there would have been no way to safely relocate the crocodile without officers or the crocodile itself being harmed," police said.
"The crocodile was secured and transported to a river system where it would normally live."
Police said the animal was monitored as it recovered from being tranquilised before it disappeared back into its natural habitat.
But not long after the area was made safe, another crocodile was spotted within the township, only about 100m from where the first animal had been found.
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Local woman Dakota Kenafake said she was in her car when the crocodile tried to attack the vehicle.
"I've been driving my car and it ... jumped on my tyres," she said.
Fitzroy Crossing was inundated by floodwaters earlier in the year, with the risk of crocodiles being cited for a delay in recovery works when divers were unable to assess structural damage of a bridge due to the risk of being faced by an ancient predator.
Police said they would be placing crocodile warning signs around Fitzroy Crossing in a bid to keep residents out of harm's way.
Only hours after the WA croc hunt, a Northern Territory man had to taken to hospital after he was attacked by a crocodile while collecting croc eggs on a remote station near Daly River, about 300km from Darwin.
He suffered a serious injury to his right leg, Northern Territory police said.
Annie Hesse
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
I am an award-winning media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcast, as well as photography and videography. I am the NT Correspondent at Australian Community Media and I write for my hometown newspaper, the Katherine Times. I love telling people's stories, and I am passionate about giving those a voice who may otherwise remain unheard. When I am not busy putting pen to paper, I spend time in my garden, go bushwalking or travel across the Northern Territory, Australia or the world. In my spare time I write, illustrate and publish books.
