2.2m man-eater takes a late-night stroll along Knuckey Lagoon street

Darwin woman Johanna Goldsmith filmed the dramatic moment a wildlife ranger captured a 2.2m saltie being captured on a moonlit suburban street. Watch the video.

Johanna Goldsmith and husband James Tonkin had just left a family birthday party when their vehicle headlights picked up a pair of yellow eyes glistening near ground level.

With their two English cocker spaniels Eddie and April sharing the car and the eyes lurking dangerously close to ground level, Johanna’s initial reaction was entirely understandable.

“What the hell’s that!”

It was, as it turned out, a 2.2m male saltwater crocodile ambling along Phoebe Court in suburban Knuckey Lagoon.

The croc was too close for comfort to homes, pathways, roads dogs and people.

As an additional surprise, Ms Goldsmith discovered the Territory has a 24-hour croc-line, which she phoned.

She used the same phone moments later to video wildlife ranger David Jacobson capturing the unwelcome reptile.

Johanna Goldsmith and husband James Tonkin found a crocodile roaming along a Knuckey Lagoon street.

“We couldn’t just head home and leave him there so I phoned the croc-wrangler hotline and got on the phone to a lovely man who said he’d be there shortly – and he was,” she said.

“He rocked up in his ute and it was pretty crazy.

“The crocodile was trying to have a go at the wrangler and he did it on his own, which was really impressive.”

Neighbours came outside with 4WD buggies to shine light on the capture, which also allowed Ms Goldsmith to film the rescue.

In a chilling aftermath for her spaniels Eddie and April, Johanna had a conversation with a Phoebe Court resident who said she had been wondering what caused an unusual wound on her dog.

“I’m a born and bred Territorian and there hasn’t been any moment in time that I’ve ever seen a croc in a residential area just outside somebody’s gate. It was definitely a first for that.”

Ian Hunt, senior wildlife ranger with crocodile management unit, said the vision of the croc spectacularly flaying during capture was a typical occurrence for rescuers.

Johanna and James’ English cocker spaniels Eddie (rear) and April. A bit too close for comfort

“Crocs thrash around like that because they’re an animal that react with a thrashing motion,” he said.

“They build up lactic acid and they get tired so it’s basically a quick thrash then they get tired very quickly.

“David managed to get the rope on the croc’s jaw quite quickly.”

And it isn’t the first time a croc has rocked Knuckey Lagoon.

In 2014 the NT News reported wildlife rangers were called out on Good Friday to nab a saltie trapped in a lagoon near homes.

So far this year rangers say 210 crocodiles have been trapped in creeks and rivers in Darwin Harbour, about average for this time of year.

The wayward reptile was taken to a Top End croc farm.

Darwin residents confronted by a crocodile in the suburbs or elsewhere should phone [phone] and in Katherine 0407 958 405.

Originally published as 2.2m man-eater takes a late-night stroll along Knuckey Lagoon street