One-metre long crocodile appears in Central Coast back yard – thousands of kilometres from the creature’s natural habitat – sparking a public appeal and leaving experts baffled: ‘I can’t believe it’

A shocked homeowner discovered a metre-long crocodile in his backyard in a sleepy town thousands of kilometres south of the creature’s natural habitat.

The female freshwater croc was found minding its own business on a property in beachside Umina on the New South Wales Central Coast.

Australian Reptile Park worker Billy Collett quickly arrived to secure the unwelcome visitor.

‘I can’t believe it,’ he said holding up the reptile.

‘Freshies’, as they are commonly known, are found mainly in the rivers and swamps across Australia’s Top End with Rockhampton, which is more than 600km north of Brisbane, the furthest south the heat-loving reptiles have been found in the wild.

Mr Corbett believes the croc, which he estimated was eight to 10 years old, was a pet that had either been abandoned or escaped.

‘She would have been caught as a little baby up in northern Australia somewhere and whoever had her would have brought her and thought it was a good idea to keep her on the Central Coast,’ he said.

However, Mr Corbett admitted the animal was in very good condition.

‘We will put him in one of our indoor closures where she will be heated and we will try to get her feeding as soon as we can while we try to work out what to do with this fella.’

It is illegal to keep crocs as pets in NSW without a licence.

‘It’s really important people don’t go down the track of keeping animals like this, especially with crocs they grow and they grow really big and for most people they can’t accommodate having something like this at home,’ Mr Corbett said.

Female saltwater crocs can reach about two metres while males can grow another half metre again.

While Mr Corbett said that unlike their larger and more square-jawed saltwater cousins humans ‘are definitely not on the menu’ for freshwater crocodiles but they still can be dangerous.

‘Freshies can still give you a very nasty bite so I need to be cautious with him,’ Mr Corbett said.

‘They have very sharp teeth and lots of them.’

The Australian Reptile Park put out a call for the owner to come forward and ‘contact relevant wildlife authorities if the crocodile belongs to a licensed reptile keeper’.

If no one clams ownership the park will consult with NSW Parks and Wildlife about what to do with the far-from-home reptile.

This article by Peter Vincent was first published by The Daily Mail on 1 May 2023. Lead Image: Crocodile keeper Billy Collett holds a juvenile freshwater crocodile that was caught in a suburban backyard in Umina, New South Wales.

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