Animal expert shares picture of monster crocodile he caught

An animal expert who captured an enormous crocodile in the Australian Outback received some backlash when he shared the image on Facebook.

Conservationist Matt Wright, who is known as the Outback Wrangler in his role as a presenter for National Geographic series Wild, can be seen crouching next to the animal, which has duct tape all around its head and snout.

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Matt uploaded the picture of the crocodile ready for relocation to Instagram, and wrote: "Now this is a big croc."

There were a host of exclamations about how big the 20ft croc is ('Holy eff balls' being one of them) but some people questioned why the animal had to be caught, and why it had the tape wrapped around it.

One user wrote: "Why does it look like there's duct tape over his eyelids ? The skin on a crocodile's jaw is ten times more sensitive than human finger tips, wouldn't that all be painful?".

Another wrote: "Did you get enough on him? Hope that's not staying on for too long poor boy."

While a fellow commenter wrote simply "Leave the poor animal alone."

However, Matt explained that, rather than being cruel, the tape is for the crocodile's protection. In the comments box below the Instagram picture, he wrote: "Thanks for all your comments and concerns. In order to keep the stress levels of a croc down when we are relocating it, it is necessary to place hessian and duct tape over the croc's eyes and key sensory glands on its head so it remains calm and minimises the build up of lactic acid. The croc's survival and safety are priority during relocations which ensure the protection of these beautiful animals so they aren't harmed or destroyed."

Crocodiles are often relocated if they are getting too close to a populated area. In defence of the TV presenter, one Facebook user wrote: "Most times these crocs are being relocated as they have clashed with humans/livestock and so if good people don't relocate them, some redneck will just shoot it."

One user also defended the move, writing: "If you zoom in on the picture, he has a hessian bag over his eyes before the tape has been wrapped around. I'm sure they have this big fella's best interests at heart and after watching many docos with @mattwright1 he would never do anything to harm these magnificent animals!"

And another fan wrote: "You're a legend @mattwright1 Keep up the good work saving them crocs!"