WILD 90 YEARS
FOREVER a free spirit, legendary croc hunter George Craig has lived his life by his own rules.
Enjoying the company of doves who eat out of his hand at his Green Island home, Mr Craig has always felt a strong connection to animals. Growing up in Peru he kept a toucan, monkeys and lizards. But it’s the big reptiles, the formidable and deadly estuarine crocodile, that has made the famous croc hunter what he is today.
“We hunted crocs for 17 years up and down the rivers but I have never felt for a crocodile,” he said.
“He is tough. He will kill his brother, he will eat you. But when you keep them you are responsible for them and then you look after them.
“And you do get fond of them, but don’t let that fool you.
“If he gets you he will kill you and that’s what a crocodile is and you have to respect that. “I don’t really mind having them in captivity, though he is better off free.
“But when he is free he kills, he has to eat.
“And it happens in bird life too but not as viciously as with crocs – they are real tough creatures.
“A lot of people say ‘ahh the poor thing, he is in such a small cage’, but as long as he is getting his food he is quite happy – that’s my thought. “Better off free, sure, but when he is free he is killing. “He might kill you or kill your dog or your cat.
“I don’t feel sorry for a crocodile but I feel sorry for everything else.”