Fence climbing crocodile at Australian wildlife park leaves visitors terrified

Visitors at an Australian wildlife national park were left alarmed after a crocodile attempted to scale the fence that separated the animal from its feeders.

The reptile, named One Eye, managed to get the top part of its body over the fence at the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park near Broome but struggled to push itself up fully due to its short legs.

A TikTok video of this incident, posted on 1 July, has been shared widely.

Sophia Armstrong, a visitor who filmed the event, exclaimed “Nah, nope” as she watched from behind another fence separating the visitors from the crocodile.

Tour guides frantically attempted to coax the giant reptile back into its enclosure.

Eventually, the crocodile retreated slightly but remained on its hind legs, peering over the fence with its head and snout.

Owen Douglas, whose grandfather founded the park in the early 2000s, remarked that One Eye was simply eager for a meal, and it wasn’t surprising that he had figured out a faster way to get to his food.

He told 9News Today: “Over the years, they get fed over that feeding bay area, so they learn themselves that maybe if they just hop over the fence, they can probably get (to) the tour guide as well as their usual chicken.

“They’re really smart animals, extremely smart – so that’s just him trying to get his food as soon as possible and you can see in the video when he gets his front legs over, he’s just sort of dangling his head over and it’s quite incredible.”

The park’s website says the daily feeding tour showcased “some of the largest crocodiles on display in Australia”.

This isn’t the first instance of a crocodile attempting to climb. In 2018, a 2.5m saltwater crocodile was seen unsuccessfully trying to climb a waterfall on the Roper River in Australia’s Northern Territory.

According to a Reuters report, researchers noted that crocodiles can climb trees despite lacking typical climbing adaptations. Smaller crocodiles can climb vertically, while larger ones prefer angled trunks and branches.

The crocodile population has exploded across Australia’s tropical north since it became a protected species under the law in the 1970s, growing from 3,000 when hunting was outlawed to 100,000 now.

A Northern Territory leader recently said that crocodile numbers cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population in the region after a 12-year-old child was killed while swimming.

Australian police found what appeared to be the remains of the child who went missing after the crocodile attack. The Northern Territory has just over 250,000 people.