Legendary hunter who was best pals with world’s biggest croc Cassius dies just days after beast passed away aged 120
A LEGENDARY hunter who was best pals with the world’s biggest crocodile has died just days after the 120-year-old beast passed away.
George Craig, 94, had a years-long bond with saltwater crocodile Cassius, which he kept in his wildlife park Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat off the coast of Cairns, Queensland.
In 1984, Cassius, a crocodile known for stirring up trouble, was caught close to a cattle station on the Finniss River in the Northern Territory of Australia, southwest of Darwin.
The record for the largest crocodile ever taken alive in Australia was established by Cassius, who was thought to be between 30 and 80 years old at the time of his capture.
After his capture, Cassius, who had a missing right leg, was transferred to Green Island three years later.
There, Cassius and George led a lavish lifestyle and even had chicken “cake” on his birthdays.
According to his carers, Cassius, who was more than a tonne in weight and 18 feet long, had his health deteriorate since October, when George had to leave Green Island because of his own health issues.
At the start of November, Cassius died at the age of 120, and George died on November 17, just two weeks after his croc pal’s passing.
One crocodile expert described the friendship that formed between the crocodile and the former hunter as “absolutely odd.”
Cassius was frequently spotted “bolting out of the water” to welcome his keeper.
According to Professor Graeme Webb of Darwin’s Crocodylus Park, the pair were “very close,” ABC News Australia reports.
He said: “When Cassius died, that wouldn’t have heralded well for George.
“The relationship between the two was absolutely odd.
“George would have to stay back from the window because Cassius would come bolting out of the water.”
According to crocodile catcher Roger Matthews, “they were equals—they were mates.”
George Craig was born in Peru on July 10, 1930, to English parents.
He lived in London throughout World War II and even had a 500-pound bomb land on his street, but luckily it did not detonate.
Before deciding to become a crocodile hunter on the Adelaide and Daly Rivers in Australia’s North Territory in 1951, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force blowing up munitions.
And from 1956 to 1971, he worked on the Fly River in Papua New Guinea.
After getting a better understanding of the creatures, George created a trading post with his wife to trap and maintain live crocodiles rather than murdering them, The Telegraph reports.
To establish Marineland Melanesia, George relocated to Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef, north of Queensland, in 1971.
He took with him his family, three enormous crocodiles, and 30 smaller juvenile animals that he had captured.
Crocodile Dundee, a movie office hit, also contributed to the park’s enormous success.
Cassius, the largest saltwater crocodile in captivity and the holder of the Guinness World Record, had been one of its biggest stars since 1987.
Following the death of Philippines crocodile Lolong in 2013, who was 20ft 3in long, according to Guinness, he took over the crown.
One of his former caretakers, Toody Scott, told AAP: “You could look into his soul by looking into his big eyes.”
“He always had this spark about him, which is very different to working with other crocs.”
According to Scott, the croc and George had a very strong bond and would spend “hours on end” sitting peacefully together.
“George has been using a mobility scooter for the past couple of years, and Cassius would approach him whenever he got close to the enclosure,” Scott said.
“He was very old and believed to be living beyond the years of a wild Croc,” Cassius’ carers wrote in a Facebook post.
“Cassius will be deeply missed, but our love and memories of him will remain in our hearts forever.”
He was moved from the nearby Northern Territory to the sanctuary in 1987, according to the group’s website.
The region’s tourism business heavily relies on crocodiles, and Cassius emerged as the main attraction.