The Australia Zoo is garnering controversy for keeping a giant crocodile named Old Faithful. It's a reptile the late Steve Irwin helped make famous. The Australia Zoo confirmed that it was holding the crocodile in captivity at the establishment. This comes after officials deemed it too problematic to live in the wild.
"It's time we respect crocs' homes. And let them thrive undisturbed in their natural habitats," the zoo wrote in the caption. "Avoiding them is simple: stay out of the water. And away from the water's edge. Don't leave food lying around the banks. And you'll never have a problem with a crocodile."
The caption also continued, "We couldn't stand by and let him be sent to a crocodile farm. So we brought him to Australia Zoo to give the big guy a forever home. We know Steve would be over the moon that we could have him here, in the sanctuary that he built, safe and sound to live out the rest of his days!?"
Crocodile In Captivity
But animal activists have disagreed with this. Alwyn Lyall, the Rinyirru (Lakefield) Aboriginal Corporation chair, told The Guardian the news made him angry. They're also angry about the move to the zoo from its original owners.
"This crocodile comes from up here in Cape York. A zoo is the wrong place for that animal," he told the outlet. "To remove him over the weekend without [any] notice or notification to us traditional owners, or anything - it's like a thief in the night sort of rubbish? We never gave the authority for that to happen."
Meanwhile, the Environmental Defenders Office wants to know why the crocodile was moved. Co-founder Amanda French wants transparency.
"It's incredibly sad that a crocodile that survived decades in the wild — swimming enormous distances, feeding on whatever he wants, mating with whomever he wants — is now sentenced to a lifetime in [captivity] ... for tourists' [amusement]," French also told The Guardian.
