Mystery surrounds the deaths of two crocodiles that were found decapitated, with an investigation being launched into finding a possible serial croc killer.
David White, operator of Solar Whisper Daintree River Crocodile & Wildlife Cruises, based in Queensland, Australia, received a phone call from an anonymous man seemingly admitting to the deed and gloating about having fed one of the crocodiles to his dogs.
On the phone, the man claimed he had killed a croc named Lizzie, and also said that he had been responsible for the killing of another croc in nearby Cow Bay in April, which was found without a head.
"He said, 'I am the apex predator now, I killed a crocodile,'" White told the Guardian.
White was distraught at the killing of Lizzie, a charismatic decades-old crocodile that he saw nearly every day during his cruises.
"All that was left was the spine and the head, we could only see the under jaw. It's too upsetting to post and it's not how I want you to remember her. The markings on the side of the jaw match up to our beloved Lizzie," White wrote in a Facebook post on May 22, announcing the death of the crocodile.
"In loving memory of the most beautiful soul and Queen of the Daintree, Lizzie. May you rest in peace, for 26 years you were there for me and I miss you so very much. May your memory live on in your children for they were your greatest gift," White wrote in another post.
In the days after, White expressed his suspicion that Lizzie's death had not been natural, as he had only found her decapitated head and spine.
"The fact I never saw her bloated body which is the normal thing for a croc that's died and I and others are here a great deal and travel this river a lot, it was 7 days exactly from when I last saw her healthy, to finding her remains," he posted on May 26. And there's certainly unexplained coincidence, the placement of her body near my boat at the pontoon, the fact her face was so fresh, no damage at all."
In a comment under a video he posted on June 4 expressing his gratitude for the messages he'd received about Lizzie's death, White revealed the details of the phone call.
"We received and anonymous phone call to the business phone from a private number a young sounding man who claimed to have done this and the one in cow bay recently. At first you think a croc hater just doing what they do, we get many phone calls, bookings, enquiry questions about crocs and sightings they don't want to make public and few haters etc etc.
"So first thought is just crazy person, except he knew exactly where her body was left the exact position and also said he filleted her up didn't want her head had the bigger head already. Her body looked exactly like she was filleted, like a fish frame. So that just answered and confirmed all the doubts that we had."
Australia's 7NEWS reported on Lizzie's killing and that of the second crocodile, which White also shared to his Facebook page, urging anyone with information to come forward.
"If you know who did this, please make an anonymous phone call. This man doesn't need your protection, what he did was just wrong, there's no other way to see it. Even if you don't like crocs, this is not hunting, this is like shooting an animal in a cage," he said in the caption.
A spokesperson for the Queensland environment department said on Friday that authorities were investigating links between the two deaths, and said they feared the crocodiles had been "targeted and deliberately killed."
Some have argued that the two crocs were likely not killed by the same person, however, because of the difference in how the bodies were found, and that the phone call may have been a cruel prank.
"If you're going to kill a crocodile and take the head, why would you kill another crocodile and not take the head?" north Queensland crocodile photographer and conservationist, Tom Hayes, told the Guardian.
Saltwater crocodiles are protected in Queensland under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, with the deliberate harming or killing of crocs coming with a maximum penalty of $32,243 AUD, or $21,875.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. ... Read more
