MARINELAND MELANESIA / AFP
Separated from its designated protector who went to live in a retirement home after 37 years of loyal service to the animal, the crocodile died a month later.
ANIMALS – Nightmare dimensions. Described as the world’s largest crocodile in captivity, the Australian reptile Cassius was declared dead this Saturday, November 2, by the sanctuary where he had lived since his capture in the 1980s.
The animal, which measured more than 5 meters long and weighed almost a ton, had also obtained the official title of largest crocodile living in captivity by the Guinness Book of Records in 2011.
He was estimated to be at least 110 years old at the time of his death. Leaving a particularly big void in the hearts of those who cared for him. Starting with the man who bought it in 1987, George Craig, also founder of the nature reserve where he lived. The Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat said in a farewell message on Facebook that the crocodilie “brought joy and companionship to his best friend George for over 37 years.”
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It has also been described as “beloved companion » by the sanctuary, located on an island off the coast of Queensland.
A fatal departure?
A saltwater crocodile, Cassius had been captured due to the damage he was causing around him. Namely numerous livestock attacks and a certain tendency to attack boat propellers which disrupted its wild environment.
If he lived peaceful days on Green Island, the island which served as his new protected habitat, the imposing crocodile was no longer in very good health, as indicated by the reserve. A deterioration in his condition which was visibly linked to his captivity. “He was very old and was thought to live beyond the years of a wild crocodile”specified the refuge, which has around fifteen crocodiles in this unique environment, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef.
But his disappearance could also be linked to the departure of his appointed protector George Craig, forced to leave the premises to live in a retirement home after 52 years within this sanctuary. According to the Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat, the crocodile’s health began to decline shortly after, as ABC points out. “ Thanks to everyone who visited Cassius throughout his life », concluded the refuge, of which Cassius had become the emblem over the years.
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