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Snap! The very best of Northern Territory crocs over the decades

Olivia Harris
1 min read·November 29, 2023 - 3:05PM
NT News

Sweetheart, Brutus and even Michael Jackson. We’ve rounded up our favourite NT croc photos to create one ripper collection. Let us know your favourites in the comments below!

 

It would be amiss to not start this gallery with the most iconic of them all - Sweetheart. This 5.1m mature male croc weighed 780kg and gained notoriety in the ‘70s for attacking dinghies. Keep scrolling to read his story. Picture: Peter Bennett
It would be amiss to not start this gallery with the most iconic of them all - Sweetheart. This 5.1m mature male croc weighed 780kg and gained notoriety in the ‘70s for attacking dinghies. Keep scrolling to read his story. Picture: Peter Bennett

 

Waverley May desperate to play with the crocs at Crocosaurus Cove. Picture: Gordon and Jessica Allen
Waverley May desperate to play with the crocs at Crocosaurus Cove. Picture: Gordon and Jessica Allen

 

Darwin Crocodile Farm records a bumper harvest of more than 2000 baby crocodile hatchlings in 1993. Two-thirds of the hatchlings were born from captive parents, with the rest taken as eggs from the wild. Picture: News Corp Australia
Darwin Crocodile Farm records a bumper harvest of more than 2000 baby crocodile hatchlings in 1993. Two-thirds of the hatchlings were born from captive parents, with the rest taken as eggs from the wild. Picture: News Corp Australia

 

Northern Territory fisherman Novon Mashiah had been leaning over the back of his boat to pose for a photo moments before this shot was taken. The 4m saltwater crocodile then exploded out of the water, and landed on the side of the boat. Picture: Doron Aviguy
Northern Territory fisherman Novon Mashiah had been leaning over the back of his boat to pose for a photo moments before this shot was taken. The 4m saltwater crocodile then exploded out of the water, and landed on the side of the boat. Picture: Doron Aviguy

 

Water skier Rick Schoenauer ploughs past the crocodile he discovered at the Manton Dam Recreational Lake in 1993.
Water skier Rick Schoenauer ploughs past the crocodile he discovered at the Manton Dam Recreational Lake in 1993.

 

A crocodile shows his ferocity as he explodes out of the water at Crocodylus Park. Picture: Supplied
A crocodile shows his ferocity as he explodes out of the water at Crocodylus Park. Picture: Supplied

 

Anthony Albanese visits Crocodylus park in 2020 in a bid to encourage tourism to the NT and its borders. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford
Anthony Albanese visits Crocodylus park in 2020 in a bid to encourage tourism to the NT and its borders. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

 

Brutus, a 5.5m saltie, lunges from the water for a piece of his favourite snack - buffalo meat - during a croc cruise on the Adelaide River. While he is missing his front right leg, he is certainly not lacking any power. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford
Brutus, a 5.5m saltie, lunges from the water for a piece of his favourite snack - buffalo meat - during a croc cruise on the Adelaide River. While he is missing his front right leg, he is certainly not lacking any power. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

 

Hunting crocodiles for their skins was a major industry in the 1950s and resulted in a severe decline in the population. After salties were protected in 1971, numbers recovered and constant human-croc conflict management continues to this day. Picture: Supplied
Hunting crocodiles for their skins was a major industry in the 1950s and resulted in a severe decline in the population. After salties were protected in 1971, numbers recovered and constant human-croc conflict management continues to this day. Picture: Supplied

 

A crocodile eats a bull shark after stealing it from a fisherman further down the beach at the Cobourg Peninsula. Picture: Anne Hurt
A crocodile eats a bull shark after stealing it from a fisherman further down the beach at the Cobourg Peninsula. Picture: Anne Hurt

 

Burt has became famous in the NT for his psychic skills. Neither footy players nor political leaders are safe from this croc’s predictions. Here he is, correctly picking Malcolm Turnbull to be Australia’s next Prime Minister in 2016. Picture: Ivan Rachman
Burt has became famous in the NT for his psychic skills. Neither footy players nor political leaders are safe from this croc’s predictions. Here he is, correctly picking Malcolm Turnbull to be Australia’s next Prime Minister in 2016. Picture: Ivan Rachman

 

Burt in action again, this time making a snappy decision for Collingwood to win the AFL Grand Final in 2018. Unfortunately, he was a few years out. Picture: Michael Franchi
Burt in action again, this time making a snappy decision for Collingwood to win the AFL Grand Final in 2018. Unfortunately, he was a few years out. Picture: Michael Franchi

 

Muscles wanted in on the action and confidently elected Joe Biden as the US President winner in 2020. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford
Muscles wanted in on the action and confidently elected Joe Biden as the US President winner in 2020. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

 

A croc takes his snack for a swim at Pittard Spit. Picture: Adam Kenna
A croc takes his snack for a swim at Pittard Spit. Picture: Adam Kenna

 

Graeme Gow sits next to Sweetheart's skeleton and a baby croc to show the difference in size. Sweetheart was determined a risk to the public in 1979 and sadly died in a relocation accident. Picture: News Corp Australia
Graeme Gow sits next to Sweetheart's skeleton and a baby croc to show the difference in size. Sweetheart was determined a risk to the public in 1979 and sadly died in a relocation accident. Picture: News Corp Australia

 

Sweetheart was then stuffed at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, where he was honoured with a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II in 1982. Picture: Supplied
Sweetheart was then stuffed at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, where he was honoured with a royal visit from Queen Elizabeth II in 1982. Picture: Supplied

 

Cassius, officially the world’s largest crocodile in captivity at 5.48m, lives with his 93-year-old owner George Craig on Green Island in Queensland. Cassius was captured in the NT in 1984 before being relocated. Picture: Billy Craig/AFP
Cassius, officially the world’s largest crocodile in captivity at 5.48m, lives with his 93-year-old owner George Craig on Green Island in Queensland. Cassius was captured in the NT in 1984 before being relocated. Picture: Billy Craig/AFP

 

While Cassius holds the Guinness World Record for largest croc in captivity, there are rumours of a ‘Roper Ripper’ living in the waters. The croc is believed to be 8m long and was last seen in this 2014 image. Picture: Supplied
While Cassius holds the Guinness World Record for largest croc in captivity, there are rumours of a ‘Roper Ripper’ living in the waters. The croc is believed to be 8m long and was last seen in this 2014 image. Picture: Supplied

 

A bold photographer gets a bit too close for comfort while snapping a large saltwater crocodile. Picture: Supplied
A bold photographer gets a bit too close for comfort while snapping a large saltwater crocodile. Picture: Supplied

 

Only in Australia. Goat Island publican Kai Hansen went viral after tackling a charging 3.5m croc with a frying pan. Kai won. Picture: Blake Smith
Only in Australia. Goat Island publican Kai Hansen went viral after tackling a charging 3.5m croc with a frying pan. Kai won. Picture: Blake Smith

 

Dominator gives the tourists more than they bargained for as he crashes against the side of the boat on a croc tour on the Adelaide River. Picture: Hayley Sorensen
Dominator gives the tourists more than they bargained for as he crashes against the side of the boat on a croc tour on the Adelaide River. Picture: Hayley Sorensen

 

Former UK Prime Minister and then London Mayor Boris Johnson holds George the royal baby crocodile at Darwin Airport on a visit in 2013. Picture: Elise Derwin
Former UK Prime Minister and then London Mayor Boris Johnson holds George the royal baby crocodile at Darwin Airport on a visit in 2013. Picture: Elise Derwin

 

A saltie blends into his environment seamlessly, silently waiting for his prey in the Mary River. Picture: Getty Images
A saltie blends into his environment seamlessly, silently waiting for his prey in the Mary River. Picture: Getty Images

 

NT Dragon Boat team members Steve Hardy and Anja Schleinert swim with Chopper, a 5.5m monster croc at Crocosaurus Park. Picture: Helen Orr
NT Dragon Boat team members Steve Hardy and Anja Schleinert swim with Chopper, a 5.5m monster croc at Crocosaurus Park. Picture: Helen Orr

 

A saltie snacks on a freshie at Banyan Farm near Daly River. Picture: Paul Fairchild
A saltie snacks on a freshie at Banyan Farm near Daly River. Picture: Paul Fairchild

 

COMP of Michael Jackson the Croc - (L): Jo Walker took this photo in January of 'Michael Jackson' the saltwater crocodile who resides near the Adelaide River bridge and recently was shot and killed after taking a fisherman from the river bank as he waded in to retrieve his hook. MUST CREDIT Picture: Jo Walker. (R): MUST CREDIT PRINT/ONLINE: 4.5-metre half-albino crocodile locals called 'Michael Jackson'. The croc killed a man on the Adelaide River. MUST CREDIT PRINT/ONLINE Adelaide River Queen Cruises
COMP of Michael Jackson the Croc - (L): Jo Walker took this photo in January of 'Michael Jackson' the saltwater crocodile who resides near the Adelaide River bridge and recently was shot and killed after taking a fisherman from the river bank as he waded in to retrieve his hook. MUST CREDIT Picture: Jo Walker. (R): MUST CREDIT PRINT/ONLINE: 4.5-metre half-albino crocodile locals called 'Michael Jackson'. The croc killed a man on the Adelaide River. MUST CREDIT PRINT/ONLINE Adelaide River Queen Cruises

 

Members of the Golden Oldies Senior Club are shown a baby crocodile by a Northern Territory Conservation Commission officer. Picture: News Corp Australia
Members of the Golden Oldies Senior Club are shown a baby crocodile by a Northern Territory Conservation Commission officer. Picture: News Corp Australia

 

Croc handler Nigel Palmer holds Tripod as he familiarises himself with his new home at Crocosaurus Cove. Picture: Justin Sanson
Croc handler Nigel Palmer holds Tripod as he familiarises himself with his new home at Crocosaurus Cove. Picture: Justin Sanson

 

Manta rays and a saltwater crocodile convene together on a beach at Cape Van Dieman. Picture: Elise Derwin
Manta rays and a saltwater crocodile convene together on a beach at Cape Van Dieman. Picture: Elise Derwin

 

A croc makes light work of a longneck turtle at Shady Camp. Picture: Graeme Williams
A croc makes light work of a longneck turtle at Shady Camp. Picture: Graeme Williams

 

Crocodile Research officer Brett Ottley leads Patrick Markwick-Smith in the Melacca Swamp to capture crocodile eggs for research in 1993. Picture: News Corp Australia
Crocodile Research officer Brett Ottley leads Patrick Markwick-Smith in the Melacca Swamp to capture crocodile eggs for research in 1993. Picture: News Corp Australia

 

A 2.5m croc lurks in the surf along the beach under Dripstone Cliffs. Picture: Justin Sanson
A 2.5m croc lurks in the surf along the beach under Dripstone Cliffs. Picture: Justin Sanson

 

A croc keeps a keen eye on the photographer as they snap a close-up. Picture: Getty Images
A croc keeps a keen eye on the photographer as they snap a close-up. Picture: Getty Images

Have your own ripper snaps to share with us? Send them in to pix@ntnews.com.au to see them featured in our galleries.

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Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/snap-the-very-best-of-northern-territory-crocs-over-the-decades/news-story/2883f3f5c863c32146b62a2357d0ec0d