VIDEO: 14-foot-crocodile wrangled by wildlife officials in Australia

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Thursday, September 1, 2016
14-foot-crocodile wrangled by wildlife officials in Australia
Police and wildlife officials in the Australian outback had their hands full as they wrangled a 14-foot-crocodile that farmers said had been eating their cattle.

NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA (KABC) -- Police and wildlife officials in the Australian outback had their hands full as they wrangled a 14-foot-crocodile that farmers said had been eating their cattle.

The methodical capture of the crocodile was recorded on video and published on Facebook Tuesday by the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services. The footage had been viewed more than 68,000 times as of Thursday afternoon.

Tom Nichols, a senior wildlife ranger, said a device was placed on the animal's upper jaw before the crocodile was removed from a cage in a waterhole, drugged, tied up and its eyes were covered.

The video shows the reptile struggling as at least seven men bind its feet and tape its mouth shut with duct tape. The animal was then driven away after being secured to a flat trailer attached to a pickup truck.

"He got a little bit away from us but we ended up getting a hold of him," said Remote Sgt. Mark Berry. "He's now been secured and will be taken into a green program in Darwin," a city on the northern coast.