The fight to free Old Faithful, the majestic, wild crocodile' made famous by Steve Irwin: His place is back in the river'

"After the hunting era, crocodiles were really wary, Lyon says. But there were a few cheeky ones around. The three Queenslanders began toying with an idea they hoped might keep both salties and people safe: what if they could instil that wariness back into those cheeky crocs? Then Lyon learned that a big male with a distinctive white scar across his belly and jaw was stalking boats in a prized barramundi fishing hole called Old Faithful on the Normanby River in Lakefield national park."

"The park ranger fired a few rounds from a semi-automatic rifle into the water near the distinctive croc. And it worked, the 4.2m croc was spooked. But only for a few months. So Lyon decided it was time to call in the big guns he rang his mate Steve. When the man known as The Crocodile Hunter answered that call, he brought a documentary crew along with him. The experiment that followed would be documented in Steve Irwin's legendary 1990s TV series."

"Lyon and Irwin trapped the nuisance croc at the Old Faithful waterhole, put him under a tarp for 24 hours and armed with departmental approval set about hazing him. They shone lights at him, drove boats near him and made their human presence felt during the crocodile's ordeal. Then they released the croc back into the Normanby. It was a complete success, Lyon says."

Barry Lyon worked as a district ranger in Cape York in the 1990s and, with his wife Shelley and mate Steve, became concerned about cheeky saltwater crocodiles as populations recovered after heavy hunting. A distinctive 4.2m male with a white scar began stalking boats at Old Faithful on the Normanby River in Lakefield national park. Initial firing near the crocodile spooked it temporarily, so Lyon and Steve Irwin trapped, tarped and, with departmental approval, hazed the animal using lights and boats to reintroduce wariness. The croc was released and subsequently behaved, illustrating a targeted deterrence approach to reduce human-crocodile conflict.

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