OLD FAITHFUL REMOVAL SPARKS OUTRAGE AMONG TRADITIONAL OWNERS
Old Faithful, the rocodile at the centre of a relocation controversy, (Supplied)
BY ASAD KHAN AND MARLI RYAN
A crocodile once captured by the late Steve Irwin in the 1990s has become the centre of new controversy after being moved to Australia Zoo in Queensland.
Known as Old Faithful, the four-metre saltwater crocodile was taken from Far North Queensland after being labelled “unreleasable” and a “danger” to tourists.
While the zoo maintains that the relocation saved the animal from being sent to a crocodile farm, Traditional Owners and conservationists argue that the decision was made without their knowledge or consent.
“THEY GOT THE WRONG CROC”
Co-founder of Community Representation of Crocodiles, Amanda French, told Ngaarda Media that Old Faithful was not the problem animal.
“It was a wrongful arrest, as the Traditional Owners have highlighted, and in fact it was the smaller emaciated crocodile in the waterhole that had become habituated by people feeding it,” she said.
The smaller, emaciated crocodile believed by Traditional Owners to be the true “problem croc” in the Far North Queensland waterhole.
“We know that that other crocodile was observed in a site inspection a few weeks previous to him being captured, and that Old Faithful was not reported by members of the public.”
She said the relocation sets a concerning precedent for wildlife management on Country, where local cultural knowledge is often overlooked in decision-making.
“HE’S FAMILY, NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION”
Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation Chair, Alwyn Lyall, said Old Faithful carries deep cultural meaning for the Kukuwara people and should never have been removed from his home waters.
“Old Faithful is a close family member. He’s a grandfather, he’s a father, he’s a son — he’s part of the family of the Kuku-Warra people,” he said.
“For him to be taken all the way, 2,000 kilometres away, it’s just not acceptable.”
He described the crocodile as a spiritual relative and protector, central to the community’s cultural identity and connection to Country.
Traditional Owner Alwyn Lyall with Old Faithful, the crocodile at the centre of a dispute over its removal from Country.
TRADITIONAL OWNERS DRAW A LINE
Mr Lyall said Traditional Owners will not approve any further removals of crocodiles from Rinyirru National Park, warning that outsiders’ behaviour, rather than the crocodiles, is the real issue.
“It only takes a couple of irresponsible fishermen to do the wrong thing around him, and then that crocodile gets called a rogue crocodile,” he said.
“At the moment, the wildlife team are looking at three other crocodiles in our national park, and I won’t be signing no more removals. I’d rather stop people from coming in our national park and fishing before they remove any more crocodiles.”
The dispute over Old Faithful highlights growing tensions between conservation policy, tourism interests, and Traditional Owner rights — and the ongoing call for genuine consultation in wildlife management across Australia’s north.
Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Asad Khan speak with Amanda French and Ngaarda Media’s Marli Ryan speak with Alwyn Lyall: