Angry crocodile caught roaming main street of Aussie town: 'Holy s***'
Residents in a small town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia had a particularly authentic start to the Australia Day public holiday on Thursday when a crocodile was spotted roaming the main street of the town.
It's believed the three metre crocodile washed up in the recent WA floods. The disgruntled beast was noticed by a member of the public at about 2am on Thursday, who quickly alerted Fitzroy Crossing Police.
Initially, authorities tried to contain the crocodile's movements to ensure the safety of locals but the animal was in no mood to comply. Police in Fitzroy Crossing, with a population of just over 1180, said they deployed several techniques to try contain the feisty reptile "which were not effective due to the crocodile’s active response".
In a video shared by WA Police, the crocodile can be seen being poked with a metal pole. The crocodile quickly turns and violently rips the pole away from the person before it snaps and flies from the animal's jaws.
"F***, he did not like that," an onlooker can be heard saying.
In another, earlier video, a police officer tries to throw a beach towel over the head of the crocodile, ostensibly in an attempt to calm the animal. However it had the opposite effect as the croc spasms in anger, flinging the towel off.
"Holy s***," someone can be heard exclaiming in reaction.
Posted to a local community group on Facebook, the animal quickly earned a new nickname. "Everyone meet Snappy. He got a bit lost and got a little cranky with one of the coppers in town," a local man wrote.
Police ultimately sought the help of a local volunteer wildlife expert who successfully tranquillised the crocodile.
Police said there was likely no other way to safely relocate the animal without officers or the beast itself being harmed.
The reptile now affectionately known as Snappy was secured and transported to a river system where it would normally live. It was monitored as it recovered from being tranquillised and was observed to return to its natural habitat, police said.
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