Somewhere in the Northern Territory there may still be an enormous crocodile skull sitting forgotten in a shed, storeroom or private collection.
The skull belonged to an 18 foot (5.4 metre) saltwater crocodile captured on the Victoria River during the mid 1980s. Today its whereabouts are unknown.
The story surfaced during a recent visit with retired Northern Territory Wildlife Ranger Neville Haskins. Neville spent much of the 1970s and 1980s working across some of the Territory's most remote regions and was part of the team involved in the capture of the crocodile.
According to Neville, the animal had come to the attention of wildlife authorities after station workers from a nearby cattle property, who regularly travelled by tinny to Timber Creek, experienced repeated close encounters with the crocodile and suspected it was responsible for stock losses. At the time, Neville said the crocodile measured 18 feet on the dot, yet was considered one of the smaller mature males inhabiting the Victoria River system.
The initial capture attempt took place at night using harpoon tactics from a small boat. Once struck, the crocodile anchored itself to the riverbed and refused to surface. When it finally did, the situation quickly became dangerous.
Neville recalled the crocodile launching its front half from the water toward the vessel. He narrowly avoided being seized and the boat took on water during the encounter. The mission was abandoned and the team returned the following day to complete the recovery.
What they discovered afterward painted a picture of an animal that had spent decades surviving in one of Australia's harshest environments.
An internal examination revealed several cattle tags, remnants of fishing netting, a projectile wound and significant lacerations across the snout. The injuries suggested previous encounters with fishing operations and human conflict. Despite this, the crocodile had survived long enough to reach an immense size.
After interviewing Neville Haskins and former ranger Phill Mitchell, both recalled that the skull was removed and cleaned following the capture. It was later placed on display in a glass cabinet at a Darwin venue which has since closed.
What happened after that remains a mystery.
Known Details of the Skull
• Belonged to the 18 foot (5.4 metre) Victoria River crocodile • Exact skull measurements are unknown • Visible hole in the snout believed to be from a projectile • Visible lacerations across the snout likely caused by an edged implement • Displayed in Darwin during the 1980s before disappearing from public record
If anyone across the Territory remembers seeing this skull, knows where it was displayed, or has information about where it may have ended up, we'd be interested to hear from you.
Like many old Territory relics, perhaps it is still sitting somewhere waiting to be rediscovered.
Photos supplied by N. Haskins, T. Nichols and Wild Creek®.
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