Cape traditional owners call for return of Old Faithful to wild
Traditional owners may hit pause on fishing at waterholes inhabited by large crocodiles to protect the totem animals from irresponsible fishos blamed for the recent removal of a croc made famous by Steve Irwin in the 1990s.
Traditional owners may hit pause on fishing at waterholes inhabited by large crocodiles to protect the totem animals from irresponsible fishos blamed for the recent removal of a croc made famous by Steve Irwin in the 1990s.
The crocodile known as Old Faithful was taken from the wild on September 8, 2025, from the Normanby River at Cape York’s Lakefield National Park after the reptile was judged to be a problem animal by the state’s environmental regulator.
For more than a month, Old Faithful has languished in a concrete pond at a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service facility in Cairns while a decision is made about where he will be permanently relocated.
Appalled by the removal, Lakefield (Rinyirru) Aboriginal Corporation chair Alwyn Lyall visited the “small, stagnant green pond” last week and described the condition of a smaller croc removed from the same waterhole.
“I saw the two crocs and the smaller one had a foot missing and he was severely undernourished and I believe he would have been the culprit that was humbugging the fisherman,” he said.
“Old Faithful has been wrongfully arrested by the department and because he lives in the same waterhole as the bad croc, he has got the blame.”
Old Faithful was first relocated to the waterhole that bears his name by Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin in 1996 after being removed from nearby campgrounds.
Mr Lyall has “demanded” the Environment Minister Andrew Powell, on behalf of traditional owners, return Old Faithful to the wild.
“We are asking that Old Faithful be returned home. Crocodiles don’t belong to the Queensland government, he belongs to Rinyirru, and Rinyirru belongs to him,” Mr Lyall’s letter stated.
More than 365 letters have been sent to Mr Powell’s office in support of the freeing of Old Faithful.
In support of the campaign, zoology professor and crocodile expert Gordon Grigg, from the University of Queensland, said he saw no welfare or ecological concerns if Old Faithful was returned to his billabong.
“There seems to be no good reason to keep it in captivity, I encourage you to decide that way,” he said.
Mr Lyall said ongoing concerns were held for another large croc at the Catfish Waterhole on the North Kennedy River and to protect the unnamed animal from park visitors, the Rinyirru Aboriginal Corporation was considering a tempoarty pause on all fishing in the area.
“We might have to change the rules surrounding some of these lagoons,” he said.
“We will stop people from fishing if that’s what it takes to stop that croc from being removed.
“That’s what we will do so they don’t end up in croc farms or on someone’s mantle piece.
“We want to see better visitor behaviour around crocs.
“They come all the way up here to see them and when they get scared they make a report and they make out the croc is the criminal, doing the wrong thing but it’s the 10,000 visitors before them that are doing the wrong thing.”
Cape York Indigenous leaders have proposed a large scale croc enclosure that could double as a tourist attraction at a central area that would be the permanent home for all crocodiles removed from the wild.
“Maybe at Laura or in the national park would be the first preference for it. This is happening in other communities and all we’re saying is croc removals off country should be a last resort,” he said.
Mr Lyall said he had met with Mr Powell during a recent visit to Cape York, where he secured an undertaking that the return of Old Faithful to the wild would be “looked into”.
“But we want him to do more than look into it, we want him to do something about it,” he said.
In a statement on Monday Minister Powell held firm on making preservation of human life a priority.
“Our government unashamedly puts public safety first,” he said.
“The Department received multiple reports about this crocodile’s behaviour and it was removed to keep people safe.”
Returning captured crocs to the wild is not without precedent and in 2016 the department captured a 2.7m crocodile thought to have been involved in the death of Cindy Waldron in the Daintree, but when it was discovered the crocodile was not to blame it was freed.
But the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation wouldn’t be drawn on the long-term future of Old Faithful.
“We understand people were using food to lure the animal from the water to take photos. Habituating crocodiles is detrimental to the animal and dangerous for people,” a spokesman said.
“The crocodile was displaying repeated and concerning behaviour that was escalating. It was ultimately removed to keep people safe.
“DETSI is identifying a suitable home for the crocodile.”
Originally published as Cape traditional owners call for return of Old Faithful to wild
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