Snappy surprise for walkers
IT was a Christmas Day croc shock for a couple of Melbourne walkers.
The pair found a one-metre long saltwater crocodile in a Heidelberg Heights front yard about 8.30pm on Monday.
Police were skeptical, and thought they would find a large lizard instead, but there was indeed a crocodile on the loose in suburban Melbourne.
Officers called in snake catcher Mark Pelley who will keep it until the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning can collect it.
Mr Pelley said he got the phone call from police saying “there’s a crocodile walking the streets”.
“This is a phone call I’ve always been waiting for,” he said. “I found five police members being stared down by a decent sized crocodile, about three and a half foot.”
“It moved much faster than a snake and was much snappier – it tried to bite me a few times. I eventually dived forward and grabbed its tail and held it upside down and put it safely in to a box.”
Where the creature came from remains a mystery.