A crocodile that terrorized a town is cooked and eaten by residents

An Australian community has retaliated against a giant saltwater crocodile by cooking and eating the 3.6-metre animal, which was accused of preying on pets and menacing children.

On Wednesday, authorities in Bulla, Australia’s Northern Territory, shot and killed the crocodile, declaring it a “significant risk to the community.”

The Northern Territory Police reported that the predator “had been stalking and lunging out of the water at children and adults” and had “also reportedly taken multiple community dogs.”

To reduce waste, the crocodile was “prepared for a feast in the traditional manner,” police said. Authorities took the opportunity to give local children an impromptu “crocodile safety session,” including an “up-close look at the dangers within our waterways.”

Speaking to the public broadcaster ABC, Northern Territory Police Sergeant Andrew McBride said the animal was “cooked up into crocodile tail soup. A few of the pieces were wrapped up in banana leaves and cooked underground.”

“It was a rather large traditional feast and there were a few full bellies,” Sergeant McBride said.

Thriving Population

Both saltwater and freshwater crocodile are among the protected species of animals in Australia, with federal laws prohibiting hunting since 1971, a crucial measure taken when poaching threatened their survival.

Since then, their populations have thrived significantly, with the Northern Territory alone now hosting approximately 100,000 crocodiles as reported by local authorities. Additional thousands are spread across the northern regions of Queensland and Western Australia.

A government wildlife specialist Kristen Hay, referring to the Northern Territory informally, said, “Any body of water in The Top End may contain large and potentially dangerous crocodiles.”

According to the territory’s website, saltwater crocodiles can grow up to six meters (20 feet) long, weigh up to a ton, and are known to consume almost anything.

Consequently, encounters between crocodiles and humans can result in fatalities, prompting park rangers in northern Australia to relocate hundreds of these crocodiles from inhabited regions annually.

In April, a 16-year-old boy died from a crocodile attack in northern Queensland while trying to swim ashore after his boat malfunctioned.

Also. in January, a nine-year-old boy narrowly survived a crocodile attack in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, requiring hospitalization for “puncture wounds.”