Feisty croc ‘Snappy Tom’ and barra stolen
Owners of a crocodile snapped up by thieves in far north Queensland hope they will return the beloved reptile.
A little crocodile called Snappy Tom has been stolen from an educational facility in Queensland. (AAP Image/Supplied by Holloways Beach Environmental Education Centre)
The little croc named Snappy Tom was “part of the family” for disappointed staff at a Queensland educational centre.
Thieves stole the small estuarine crocodile and a 90cm barramundi after breaking into the Holloways Beach facility, near Cairns, during the Australia Day long weekend.
Police have described the croc as about 60cm long, with sharp teeth and a “quite feisty” personality.
“They’re like our pets, they’re part of the family,” Holloways Beach Environmental Education Centre principal Louise Carver told AAP.
A second barramundi “survived” the break-in, but Carver suspected the stolen fish might have been served up as part of an Australia Day meal.
The thieves got into the complex and broke locks on the croc’s cage.
Carver said Snappy Tom was used to teach crocodile awareness.
The centre had been home to a crocodile for about 13 years, but the reptiles are “traded in” before they get too big.
The centre said on social media they hoped media coverage would help find “whoever crashed our cabin, burgled our barra and snapped up our croc”.
The facility, on 10 hectares, is visited by about 4000 students a year.
–AAP
