Police bungle puts deadly croc in swimming hole

Source: Mail & Guardian Online / AFP
Level: Advanced

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Police bungle puts deadly croc in swimming hole

Wildlife authorities in Australia were hunting on Friday for a saltwater crocodile after police found the ferocious reptile in a home and released it near a popular swimming hole, thinking it was a relatively harmless freshwater croc, national radio reported.

A woman in the small north-western town of Kununurra called police after finding the crocodile taped up in her laundry, unaware that it was being stored there by her son's friend, who is a licensed catcher, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

Police released the 1,8m-long reptile into a branch of Lake Kununurra, a popular recreation area on the town's edge, after mistaking it for a freshwater crocodile -- a far less aggressive species.

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