1m crocodile found at Doncaster dog park

A nature photographer strolling through a suburban dog park in Melbourne’s east got the surprise of his life - a dead crocodile lying in grass just metres from ponds.

Dead croc found in Melbourne dog park

A NATURE photographer strolling through a suburban dog park in Melbourne’s east got the surprise of his life - a dead crocodile lying in grass just metres from ponds.

Andrew Wallis photographed the crocodile on his phone after stumbling across it near The Boulevard entrance of Ruffey Lake Park yesterday afternoon.

“I thought it was a goanna at first,” he said.

“Obviously these animals are from North Queensland and northern Australia and it wouldn’t have been able to survive here.

A freshwater crocodile would only survive a week in the wild in Victoria because of our colder conditions. Picture: Andrew Wallis

“Its feet looked like they had been chewed and it was not far from a fox den in the ground.”

The Department of Environment and Primary Industries were alerted, but told Mr Wallis they could do nothing to help as the animal wasn’t native.

“They said I should contact council,” he said.

“I thought they would want to scour the area to see if there were any more.

“It’s possible whoever had the crocodile thought it was looking a bit under the weather and thought it would be better off in the wild.”

Mr Wallis said the animal was found near small ponds close to Ruffey Lake.

“There is a lot of scum on the surface of the water, which is about 2ft (60cm) deep,” he said.

“I doubt if there would be any food there because its so thick and sludgy, there wouldn’t be any fish for it to eat.”

An advanced wildlife licence is required to keep a freshwater crocodile.

Australian Wildlife Health Centre vet and reptile specialist Franciscus Scheelings said freshwater crocodiles needed a large tank, correct filtration to maintain good water quality and a UV lamp or sunlight to bask in.

“They need to do regular water testing,” he said.

Dr Scheelings said it would be possible for a crocodile to survive in the wild in Victoria for a week and that it may have escaped from an enclosure.

He said it was unlikely it would eat a pet dog.

“They feed on fish and anything they can grab hold of,” he said.

“They typically wouldn’t survive very long if released in Melbourne or if they escaped because the conditions aren’t right.

“Where they live in northern Australia, it typically doesn’t get below 30C.”

Freshwater crocodiles were usually scared of people, he added.

“Their first instinct is to try and run away not to disturb you,” Dr Scheelings said.

“These animals are not a threat.”

DEPI Port Phillip resource protection program manager Bryan Welch confirmed DEPI were told about the crocodile on Tuesday and that the local council had recovered it.

It is not known what’s happened to the carcass or if authorities are investigating further.