{"id":2213,"date":"2026-03-03T12:14:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T12:14:37","slug":"crocodile-found-by-boy-lurking-in-a-creek-near-familys-home-1200-miles-from-its-tropical-habitat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=2213","title":{"rendered":"Crocodile found by boy lurking in a creek near family’s home, 1,200 miles from its tropical habitat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stephanie Kirsop didn’t believe her son when he phoned to say a crocodile was lurking in a creek near their home.<\/p>\n

The family live in the temperate coastal city of Newcastle, which is 1,200 miles south of Australia’s crocodile habitat in the tropical north. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Lionel Saunders, 12, and his friends had spotted the juvenile meter-long croc early Saturday afternoon. Authorities were initially skeptical of the reported find but had caught the elusive reptile by Sunday night.<\/p>\n

“My son took videos because he was trying to convince me it was real and I didn’t believe him. It did look like a crocodile but I was like, no it’s a log,” Kirsop said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

“He rang me back a little bit later and he’s like: ‘I’m so serious mom. You have to come down here and have a look,'” Kirsop said. “The whole drive down there I’m thinking this is going to be a trick. They’re going to laugh at me.”<\/p>\n

She was in no doubt it was a crocodile when she arrived.<\/p>\n

“There is a little crocodile just swimming around in the creek where local kids go to fish and sometimes kids swim in there. Wow,” Kirsop said.<\/p>\n

She phoned a wildlife rescue service and was told crocodiles don’t live in the area. Kirsop sent her own photos and video as proof.<\/p>\n

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\"Australia<\/span>

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In this photo provided by Australian Reptile Park, its manager Billy Collett holds a freshwater crocodile caught in Ironbark Creek near Newcastle, Australia, Sunday, March 1, 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brandon Gifford \/ AP<\/p>\n

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Kirsop was referred to the Australian Reptile Park, which keeps its own crocodiles in a temperature-controlled environment.<\/p>\n

Park manager Billy Collett said he suspected the images might have been artificial intelligence-generated fakes. But police confirmed there was a croc in Ironbark Creek.<\/p>\n

“I was a bit suspicious because we get a lot of phone calls. These days with AI, it’s just so crazy,” Collett said.<\/p>\n

He recognized it was an Australian freshwater crocodile, or crocodylus johnstoni, a smaller and less dangerous species than saltwater crocodiles<\/span>, which can grow to more than 20 feet, weigh over a ton, and have a bite force strong enough to crush a human skull.<\/p>\n

Freshwater crocs can still be dangerous.<\/p>\n

“They’re capable of inflicting a serious injury,” Collett said of the smaller species.<\/p>\n

Collett’s team caught the croc Sunday night 2 miles from where it was first spotted.<\/p>\n

“I just wanted to get him out of there because he would’ve perished in winter,” Collett said. It is currently autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

The croc is healthy and will stay at the park until authorities decide where it should go permanently, Collett said. Crocs are protected under Australian law.<\/p>\n

He suspects the croc was a pet that had been released into the wild after growing too big for a fish tank or too dangerous.<\/p>\n

Between December 1985 and April 2024, there were 34 non-fatal attacks and 14 fatal attacks by wild saltwater crocodiles in Queensland, Australia.<\/p>\n

In August 2024, police said human remains were found inside a large crocodile\u00a0suspected of killing a tourist<\/span>\u00a0in Australia. A month before that, a 12-year-old girl was snatched by a crocodile while swimming with her family in a creek in the Northern Territory. Her\u00a0remains were found<\/span>\u00a0days later and wildlife rangers\u00a0shot dead a 14-foot crocodile<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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