Four-metre long 'problem crocodile' killed in NT after lunging at humans

A four-metre long crocodile that lunged at two people has been killed by park rangers in the Northern Territory.

Around 10am on Tuesday, rangers in Kakadu National Park came across two people who were described as “shaken up” after encountering the aggressive croc in long grass in a culvert near the Arnhem Highway.

The pair were uninjured and contacted local rangers who found tracks in the grass that showed the animal was heading into water, but they did not find the crocodile.

A spokeswoman from Kakadu said rangers returned at night and located the saltwater croc after spotting its eyes shining. The animal was missing some of its tail and seemed underweight. Park officials judged the animal as a “problem croc” and it was shot in the interests of public safety before being removed from the area with a tractor.

NT Parks and Wildlife Commission’s senior ranger for crocodile management, Tommy Nichols, told ABC News that the rangers were justified in killing the crocodile, which may have been difficult to catch live, because it was “menacing towards people”.