From Newsgroup: aus.politics
Australian authorities said Thursday that they were investigating videos posted online by a U.S. influencer that show him capturing and restraining wild crocodiles in the state of Queensland.
rCLThese actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action including fines to deter any person
from this type of behavior,rCY the Queensland environment department said in
a statement.
Mike Holston, also known as The Real Tarzann, posted two videos in recent
days to his 15 million followers on Instagram, including one in which he appears to wrestle a crocodile and ends up on top.
In the first video, Holston enters shallow water from a boat and runs
toward what he says is a freshwater crocodile before jumping on it and wrestling with it. Blood is visible on his left arm as he grabs the neck
of the crocodile, which can be heard calling out.
rCLThis is what dreams are made of,rCY Holston says in the video while holding the reptile, admitting that he has wanted to come to Australia since a
young age to see crocodiles up close.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DORB1o7kX- u/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again
Since being posted on Sept. 5, the video has garnered over a million likes
and been viewed more than 33 million times.
In the second video, Holston is seen in marshland chasing after what he
says is a juvenile saltwater crocodile. He grabs the reptile rather
easily, which Queensland officials said was rCLcompletely uncharacteristic,rCY citing crocodile experts.
rCLIn normal conditions, such an animal would writhe and thrash about
wildly, seeking to escape,rCY they said.
Both animals can be seen being released in the videos, which appear to
have been filmed at Lockhart River on the Cape York Peninsula.
Holston did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/us-influencer-investigation-australia- controversial-crocodile-videos-rcna230535
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