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Boy feeds zoo animals to crocodile

SYDNEY: A blank-faced 7-year-old boy broke into a popular Outback zoo, fed a string of animals to the resident crocodile and bashed several lizards to death with a rock.

The boy jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in central Australia early on Wednesday, then went on a 30-minute killing spree. He used a rock to slay three lizards, including the zoo’s beloved, 20-year-old goanna. He then fed them to ‘Terry,’ a 3.3-m, 200-kg saltwater crocodile, said zoo director Rex Neindorf.

The boy, whose acts were caught on the security camera, threw several live animals to Terry over the two fences surrounding the crocodile’s enclosure. At one point he climbed over the outer fence to get closer to the giant reptile. In the footage, the boy’s face remains largely blank. “It was like he was playing a game,” the zoo director said.

He killed 13 animals worth around $(A)7,000, including a turtle, bearded dragons and thorny devil lizards. Although none were rare, some would be difficult to replace.

“We’re horrified that anyone can do this, and saddened by the age of the child,” the director said.

The police said they identified the boy, who lives locally, but were unable to press charges because of his age. Children under age 10 are not criminally liable under the law in the Northern Territory.

“By all accounts, he’s quite a nasty 7-year-old,” said the zoo director, who plans to sue the boy’s parents. — AP

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