Updated on: March 3, 2026 / 6:56 AM EST / CBS/AP
Stephanie Kirsop didn’t believe her son when he called to say a crocodile was lurking in a creek near their Newcastle home — a temperate coastal city about 1,200 miles south of Australia’s tropical crocodile range.
Her 12-year-old son, Lionel Saunders, and friends spotted a juvenile, roughly one meter long, in Ironbark Creek early Saturday afternoon. Authorities were initially skeptical, but wildlife officers and staff from the Australian Reptile Park captured the reptile by Sunday night about two miles from where it was first seen.
“My son took videos because he was trying to convince me it was real and I didn’t believe him. It did look like a crocodile but I was like, no it’s a log,” Kirsop said. After returning to the creek, she had no doubt. “There is a little crocodile just swimming around in the creek where local kids go to fish and sometimes kids swim in there. Wow.”
Kirsop phoned a wildlife rescue service and was told crocodiles don’t live in the area; she then sent photos and video and was referred to the Australian Reptile Park. Park manager Billy Collett said he initially suspected the images could be AI-generated fakes, but police confirmed the animal’s presence.
Collett identified the animal as an Australian freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni), a smaller species than the much larger and more dangerous saltwater crocodile. “They’re capable of inflicting a serious injury,” he said. Collett’s team removed the croc partly out of concern it would not survive the coming winter. The animal is healthy and will remain at the park while authorities decide on a permanent home; crocodiles are protected under Australian law.
Collett suspects the juvenile was once kept as a pet and released after it outgrew a tank or became too hazardous. Releasing captive reptiles into the wild can threaten both the animal and local people.
Australia has a history of crocodile incidents. Between December 1985 and April 2024, Queensland recorded 34 non-fatal and 14 fatal attacks by wild saltwater crocodiles. In recent years authorities have investigated cases including a tourist found inside a large crocodile in August 2024 and the killing of a 12-year-old girl in the Northern Territory whose remains were later recovered and where rangers subsequently shot a 14-foot crocodile.