Australian Crocodile Dundee Defeated In First Round

Story ByMichael Leidig, Sub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyAsia Wire Report

AsiaWire/@mattwright

A real-life Australian Crocodile Dundee has been forced to pause a bid to catch a wild crocodile which has had a motorcycle tyre stuck around its next for the last four years.

TV celeb Matt Wright, star of the TV show Monster Croc Wrangler which is broadcast on the National Geographic channel, agreed to try and catch the poor crocodile after local officials tried to get help for the huge reptile – and nobody came forward.

The crocodile, which measures four metres (13 feet) in length, was first spotted with the tyre around its neck in the Palu River in the Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi and has been there ever since.

AsiaWire/@mattwright

The local authorities and conservationists have previously tried to catch crocodile to help it, but failed to do so.

But after a week of trying in vain top capture the crocodile, the presenter has thrown in the towel, explaining that he only had a one-week work permit.

He said: “Give the croc a rest. We’ll be back soon to continue operations.”

AsiaWire/@mattwright

He hopes to return with fresh ideas and new technology to capture the crocodile. The strategy so far has included hanging a living duck from a drone that was later flown over the crocodile but with no success.

Meanwhile, those who launched the appeal for help said they would not be looking for more people as there was a risk that someone might get hurt or that they would stress the crocodile out too much, forcing it to attack people or other crocodiles.

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