NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS (Brisbane, Australia) 24 January 06 Making a meal of stalker croc (Eric Tlozek)
A menacing crocodile was killed and eaten at a Territory community yesterday.
Pirlangimpi traditional owners last night celebrated by cooking and eating the tail of the 3.3m croc shot during the afternoon.
Officers killed the saltie because it snatched a dog from the beach on Sunday.
The Melville Island community feared the crocodile would attack children who play on the beach, which is a short walk from houses.
Police shot the crocodile at 2.30pm as it lay in water 90m from the beach.
After an initial shot hit the croc, officers took a boat to inspect the reptile and shot it again in the head, then dragged it on to the beach and measured it.
The tail was cut off and given to Pirlangimpi traditional owners for eating.
``It's a bit of a delicacy around here,'' Pirlangimpi police Sergeant Rod Godden said.
Police were given permission by Parks and Wildlife and the Pirlangimpi community to kill the saltie after residents complained it was stalking dogs and children on the beach.
People were convinced the crocodile was a threat when it killed a dog on the beach last Sunday.
``By the size of it, it was certainly big enough to have taken a small child,'' Sgt Godden said.
Residents had noticed the crocodile coming regularly to the beach for the past week.
``I stopped walking my dogs along the beach because of the crocodile,'' resident Liza Adams said.
``It was coming really close to the shore.''
Making a meal of stalker croc