Cattle-eating croc is caught by police armed with a cage, rope and duct tape

Never smile at a crocodile … especially when it’s a 14ft monster which has been munching on farmer’s cattle. Instead, as police in Australia found out, it is much more sensible to use ropes and a big cage to catch it. The croc was trapped by police in the shallow waters of the Australian outback following reports that cattle were being eaten in the Douglas Daly region. It took seven men to tie down the monster reptile, which has been sent to a breeding programme in Darwin.

He got a little bit away from us, but we ended up getting hold of him.

Remote Sergeant Mark Berry

Footage shows officers using the cage to trap the reptile in the water before securing it with rope and duct tape as it wriggles around in an attempt to break free. “It was a bit of an unorthodox extraction from the cage due the situation where it was in a water hole with limited access,” said Remote Sergeant Mark Berry, in the police video. The officer said the trap had been left in the water because they had spotted another large crocodile lurking in the water hole “that is still posing a threat to safety”.