Hartleys was the first place in Australia to breed crocodiles in captivity. They now do crocodile boat tours around the lagoon and do crocodile attack and feeding shows.

The crocodile feeding show was good to be able to see the crocs up close and to hear the snap of their jaws which is air displacement. The young keepers were very casual walking in amongst the crocs and feeding them by hand. I was nervous just watching them. The female crocs have all been bred in captivity but the male crocs are the problem crocs from elsewhere in far north Queensland. One croc tried to attack a golfer on the green at the Sheraton Mirage in Cairns. That would put you off golf! One had been eating this farmers cows near Innisfail and one had eaten lots of local dogs. So they catch them in a big baited cage and transport them to Hartleys to keep them out of mischief. They have to be careful how many males go into the same lagoon as they can be very aggressive towards each other. Apparently a few months ago there was a feeding show going on and one male crocodile bit another male crocodile’s leg clean off in the middle of the show! Luckily for the crocodile they have this ability to stop blood flow when this happens which stops them bleeding out and dying.

The biggest at Hartley’s is around 4.5m but they can grow up to 6m. They all looked pretty big to me.

They also have snakes, komodo dragons, koalas and cassowaries but I felt a bit sad for them as they didn’t have a lot of space.croc