Giant Croc Trapped After Eating Nine Pet Dogs

A crocodile with a taste for pet dogs has finally been caught in northern Australia.

The crocodile was pulled from a river bank in a remote part of the Northern Territory and had, according to police, eaten nine dogs in the last month.

The 4.4-metre (14.5-feet) crocodile was trapped at Daly River community, about 225km (139 miles) south of Darwin, where it was terrorising residents and animals, the Northern Territory News said.

Community police officer Mark Casey told the newspaper: "Crocs are an ever-present danger but you don't see them.

"They can sit for days on end on the other side of the river and watch you go fishing off the same log or rock - that's how they hunt.

"Next thing you know, bang, the dog's gone."

As the saltwater crocodile drew ever closer to the settlement of 500 people, also snatching wallabies, a decision was made to catch it.

While the pet-eating beast was caught, Mr Casey said there were two more big crocs and a small one still on the loose in the area.

Saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to seven metres long and weigh more than one ton, are a common feature of Australia's tropical north and kill an average of two people a year.

Rangers set traps for the animals if they are believed to be getting away from their normal habitat and too close to homes.

Caught crocodiles are usually relocated to wildlife parks.