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00:00There he is, Graham, the only big croc at Australia Zoo to ever get the better of me.
00:07It was a routine capture, and then, wha! Grabbed me by the hand, pulled me in the water to kill me.
00:13Luckily I landed on his head and I got away with my life.
00:16Graham's never forgiven me for getting away with just a wounded hand.
00:22Way back in 1992, I made a huge mistake. A case of the jaws quicker than the eye.
00:28Graham was in an ambush position, flew out, grabbed my hand, tried to pull me back into the water, perhaps to kill me.
00:35Now I got away with it. I was really lucky. A little bit of skill.
00:39But now, it's time for Graham's revenge.
00:47This guy is deadly, mate.
00:51This is great. Couldn't have gone any better.
00:59Whoa!
01:01Just hold, just hold.
01:07Mission accomplished.
01:15Graham is powerful and fast.
01:19Deadly fast.
01:21He's tasted my blood. He's had his teeth in my flesh.
01:25And at every opportunity, he tries to go at it again.
01:29He's grown enormously since his first bite.
01:33And by crikey, he commands respect.
01:39In here somewhere, there's a beautiful crocodile called Graham.
01:45Over in the corner there is his girl, Bindi.
01:49I can see some bubbles coming up. Bubbles coming around here.
01:53Here he comes, here he comes.
01:55Graham.
02:01Graham.
02:04Come on, Graham.
02:12Come here.
02:15Graham is an Australian saltwater crocodile.
02:19And there's nothing he loves more than demonstrating
02:22how salties can launch vertically straight up out of the water
02:27and pluck a duck mid-flight.
02:29They're that good at getting their food.
02:32Wait, hear those jaws coming together?
02:343,000 pounds per square inch.
02:37And he uses his tail to pole vault straight out of the dirty water
02:41and hit with deadly accuracy.
02:43You see now that he's starting to get a belly full of food,
02:45he's starting to slow down, a little bit more controllable,
02:48and he's starting to look at the food rather than looking at me.
02:52Whack!
02:53Boy, he's a good boy.
02:55Hard to imagine that I caught Graham by hand when he was only a little fella.
03:00He has grown really fast.
03:03One of the fastest growers and one of the fastest strikers.
03:08My mate Graham.
03:11Righty-o, team.
03:13If there was ever a time that we're going to need precision and accuracy,
03:16now's the time.
03:17Take no risk at all.
03:19I want to rehearse this and rehearse it until we're all completely clear.
03:22All right.
03:23So Terry and Kelsey, you're going to take Bindi, right?
03:25Get her out of our hair.
03:26Fred, you're the strong man, the anchor man on those ropes.
03:29Those other guys that are even behind you,
03:31you take the lead, you call it, do whatever you've got to do.
03:34Wes, back up one.
03:36Briano, back up two.
03:37It's all about teamwork, though, eh?
03:39If we make a mistake with this guy, he's going to split us open so badly it's not funny.
03:43It'll probably be myself and you guys who are going to be in the firing line.
03:46All right.
03:47So once we get him, what I want to do is I want to take him straight from his enclosure
03:50up over the two fences down onto the green tarps.
03:53From the green tarps, we load him into the four-wheel drive.
03:55Four-wheel drive, back out onto the main road.
03:57I want people.
03:58Kelsey, you'll be in charge of that.
03:59I want the gate swung open, ready to go.
04:01We go straight through, past the shed, through the other crocodiles, the kangaroo area,
04:06and we get round to the other gate.
04:07When we get to the other gate, I want that poise, ready to go, swing it open as soon as we get there.
04:11Then we'll slide him off on the green tarp, straight out onto that high bank,
04:15the one we've prepared, that green grassy bank.
04:17Up on there, pull him out, ropes off, people on, ropes off, let him go.
04:27While Graham's out in the sun, on land, we can see him,
04:31and it's less dangerous for us to go in and set up some safety precautions to protect the crocs.
04:41Now that he's in the water, he's in a position where he could ambush,
04:44so things get a little more dicey.
04:47It's all about moving quickly.
04:48Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
04:49There's his girl.
04:50Precisely.
04:52And having good backup, people staring straight at him.
04:56Still up behind the stuff, Steve.
04:58Yeah.
04:59Frame you over the pliers and some of those wires.
05:01I've got to tie rubber mats on the fence before we catch him so as he doesn't hurt his mouth
05:06and get caught up in the fence on capture.
05:10Graham's rules are pretty simple.
05:12Come into my territory and you've got to be prepared to fight me.
05:16You'll probably go twice my body weight and about eight to ten times my power,
05:21and enough teeth in there to chomp me in half.
05:23Behind you.
05:27Oh, he's coming up.
05:28Oh, here we go.
05:29You got a go?
05:32That strike was all about dominance.
05:34He doesn't want me in his territory.
05:36He doesn't understand what the green mats are,
05:38so he's sitting there, mouth open, poised, ready to kill if I get too close.
05:42He's showing me his weapons.
05:44He's starting to tense up.
05:45He doesn't like this green stuff in his territory.
05:49So he's just showing himself, exposing his teeth.
05:52This is a demonstration of power and get out of my territory.
05:57This is very good.
06:02Steady tear, he's going to go.
06:08He's testing the mat.
06:10He doesn't like it, it's new in his territory,
06:12and he's just seeing if he can kill it.
06:16I'm going to see if I can get him swung back into the water.
06:23Come on.
06:25Crocodiles hate anything new in their territory, so they test it.
06:29So to get this job done, we've got to try and keep him in the water.
06:34He's angry.
06:36Isn't he quick?
06:38How's this?
06:40That's great though, he's tested it.
06:42He bit it, it's inanimate, he's happy with it.
06:45This is great, couldn't have gone any better.
06:47Time for me to get out, I think.
06:53Okay, so let's assume this tree line is Graham's water.
06:57He's out sunning himself now.
06:59As soon as I jump in, show him a white bucket,
07:01he's going to go into a food response, goes into the water.
07:06G'day and welcome to Australia Zoo, the whole nine yards.
07:09I'll jump in.
07:11He'll go into the water, I'll get him into the water.
07:13He'll go into the water, he'll go into position.
07:16Come on, Graham, come on, Graham.
07:18It'll be probably a good 10, maybe 15 minutes.
07:19He'll do his snout thing, trying to locate me.
07:22We'll wait, we'll wait.
07:24And then I'll lure him out.
07:26Come on, Graham, out you come.
07:28Come on, come on, come on.
07:35Right, I'm going to lose this top jaw rope, Stewie.
07:37You're going to have to go around further.
07:39Go around more, more.
07:41Okay, he's going into a death roll.
07:43That's it.
07:45I'm going on.
07:47Okay, I'm going to move forward.
07:49Wes, you get on the head.
07:51I'm going to need those, the small green tarp.
07:53Right, small green tarp around his head.
07:55That'll be the only blindfold.
07:57We'll have it back up there.
07:59I'm going to take these top jaw ropes off.
08:01You happy?
08:03Okay, back it off, back it off.
08:05Here we go, boys.
08:07You right, Wes?
08:09I'm right.
08:11Right, wrap, wrap, wrap.
08:13Okay, now, we're going out.
08:14We're going over the fence.
08:16Tail over.
08:18Keep the head in, Wes.
08:20We're coming over, too.
08:22Okay, onto the tarp.
08:25Okay, just everyone keep your weight on him.
08:27Okay, wrap the tarp.
08:29Relax.
08:31Let's get the troopie in.
08:33Troopie comes in, we load him up.
08:35He hasn't hit that 12-foot big bloke mark yet.
08:37He's close, really close.
08:39Any other croc, I reckon, yeah, they're a bit slower
08:42or a bit smaller, not as much impact.
08:44This bloke, he's deadly dangerous.
08:48Capturing Graham is going to be all about precision
08:52and the accuracy of our rehearsals.
08:54It's a normal feeding session.
08:56We're hoping to fool Graham and Bindi long enough
08:59to get them rope before they get into a defensive position
09:02and hide in the muddy water.
09:04And the white food bucket that I'm carrying,
09:06it's going to catch their attention from the word go.
09:09They're going to think that it's just a normal,
09:11just a routine feeding session.
09:12And notice how everyone's cruising around
09:14pretty lackadaisical,
09:16just like we were going to do a feeding demo
09:18like any other day.
09:20That's the secret.
09:22Look at them, laying out in the sun.
09:24They're not even phased.
09:26They think it's just a standard day.
09:33Here he comes.
09:35He's just thinking, yeah, yeah, food time.
09:37I'll just come over and strike at Steve
09:39and get some food.
09:41And here he comes,
09:43straight into an ambush position.
09:46I've got two top jaw ropes ready to go.
09:48Okay, we've got bubbles in front.
09:50Just like the rehearsal.
09:52So far, so good.
09:54He came in, food response, saw the bucket.
09:56He knows there's food.
09:58Pretty soon, he'll start to think,
10:00well, I'm going to need a bit of tucker in a minute.
10:02And we'll start to see his snout working the bank.
10:06Everyone ready.
10:08It's tense.
10:11Especially at my end.
10:14Got to get those jaw ropes on.
10:16Strike!
10:18Come on, bro.
10:20Give us that piece of pork again.
10:22Come on, mate.
10:24There's a good boy.
10:26Come on now.
10:28Too much slack on the rope.
10:30This is great. This is good.
10:32Just like the rehearsal.
10:35Accurate, accurate.
10:37This is happening. This is good.
10:39Give us the other top jaw rope.
10:41Another top jaw rope.
10:45Wait.
10:48Okay, go long with this one, too.
10:51Going to go into a death roll.
10:54It's all about people power.
10:56Piling on with as much power and strength as you can get.
10:59We need the jaw rope blower.
11:01Stewie, you're going to have to get in.
11:03We need both jaw ropes. Blow.
11:05Got to remember, Bindi is still in there
11:06and she's still got a full mouth full of teeth
11:09and she's a gnarly little sheila.
11:11We're flat out holding him down.
11:14I need more room, Wes.
11:16Back up a bit, Brian.
11:18Back up a bit.
11:20We've got time. We've got time.
11:22Jaw's shut.
11:24I reckon you need to come down the same way as me.
11:26Come down the same way as me.
11:28I've got his mouth.
11:30Okay, now you need to get his jaws, Wes.
11:32Have a go at those teeth.
11:34Bindi's turning. Bindi's going in.
11:36She's agitated.
11:38And you can see how dangerously close we are to the water.
11:42Pull it if you need it.
11:45He's beating us.
11:47You're going to have to get him back out of the water.
11:49Back up.
11:51Little Frank, you're in.
11:53It's up to Big Mick and Little Frank
11:55to get Brendan back out of the water
11:57before Bindi takes a piece of him.
12:07With a big croc like this,
12:09canvas makes the best blindfold.
12:12But if you can imagine,
12:14if he gets a run up, he can still loosen up his jaws enough
12:16to bite straight through the canvas,
12:18straight through your arm or your hand.
12:20Go the other side, Wes. Go the other side.
12:22Okay, we're almost ready to go up.
12:24Okay, up.
12:28Looking good, looking good.
12:31Just like we rehearsed, this is looking good.
12:34Okay, the head first.
12:40Come on, team, come on.
12:43Go down, down, down. Drop.
12:47Notice how Wes never let go of his head.
12:50He had the jaws in his arm and he never let go.
12:53Everyone else had to drop to the ground,
12:55but his head was still secure.
12:57That's backup. That's teamwork.
12:59A dozen of us and he threw us all.
13:00Rightio, we go again. Up.
13:02Okay, up, head first.
13:04He's a strong boy.
13:06We're going to have to move quicker this time.
13:08Come on, team, push it.
13:10He's still able to wiggle and move his tail.
13:12Those blokes down the back end there
13:14are flat out hanging on to that tail.
13:16It's just power.
13:18Sheer muscular power.
13:20Come on, team, push it.
13:28All right, Wes.
13:30We've got him over the crucial point.
13:33Tail first. Let's go. Out.
13:35Second team's got a good grip.
13:37Now we can make the move back out onto the grass
13:39where more people can pile on.
13:41Terry's out. Bindi's safe.
13:49Have a go at the amount of people
13:51to hold onto one 12-foot crocodile.
13:56That's what it's about. People power.
13:5811 blokes on his back
14:00and Graeme is still able to get a wiggle up.
14:07We've cut down the risk and secured his jaws.
14:11Blindfold back on.
14:14Look at those teeth.
14:16Huge, great penetrating teeth.
14:18Every time I get a good look at them
14:20it makes my hand hurt.
14:22Wes, you can see those blokes
14:24hanging off that top jaw rope.
14:26They're the anchor men.
14:28If anything happens,
14:30they've got a secure rope to his head.
14:32Okay.
14:34When you're talking capture of crocodiles,
14:36the Australian saltwater crocodile,
14:38the greatest crocodile species in the world,
14:40no animal can demonstrate more power
14:43in a split second
14:45than the Australian saltwater crocodile.
14:47Ounce for ounce.
14:48They would be one of the most powerful animals
14:50on the face of the earth.
14:52Okay.
14:54Is the double bed in the troop carrier?
14:56Yes, we're ready to go.
14:58All right, we're good to go.
15:00Okay, up.
15:03Can you roll that top jaw rope
15:05up into a handleable length, please?
15:07Yep, I'm going.
15:09You've got the top jaw rope at the door there.
15:11Let Kevin get out of there.
15:13Get it up.
15:15Can you get through there, Kev?
15:16We've set up a nice big double bed mattress
15:18up inside the troop carrier
15:20to transport him from one side of the zoo to the other.
15:22Okay.
15:24Tail that way, body this way.
15:26Weso, wait until someone swaps with you.
15:29You come out, transport team in.
15:31Toby, you're right behind Brino.
15:34It's all about taking no risks.
15:36Even though he's inside the troop carrier,
15:38people power, hold him down.
15:40Whenever you've got your hands on his body,
15:42you can actually feel, sense
15:44when he's going to build up and strike.
15:46Good luck.
15:48There's Wes.
15:50Good on you, mate.
15:52He's been working with me and Dad
15:54for nearly 15 years shifting crocodiles.
15:56There's nothing like that kind of experience.
16:03Let me take you back
16:05many, many months to this day,
16:07prior to Graham's capture.
16:09Months ago.
16:11We've got the construction crew down here right now
16:13because this is about to become
16:14Graham's new house.
16:18It took months of frantic work
16:20getting everything in the new enclosure
16:22looking just perfect.
16:24We had to build public viewing platforms,
16:26watercourses, ponds.
16:28The billabong was crucial to him.
16:30Of course, in the zoological industry,
16:32everything is about fencing.
16:34And so Graham and Bindi's fence
16:36is going to have to be absolutely
16:38bulletproof and floodproof.
16:40Their enclosure, their new habitat
16:41has been designed right here,
16:43fair smack dab,
16:45in the middle of a floodplain.
16:47Okay, so we're going to have
16:49excessive quantities of water
16:51coming down through here in the monsoon,
16:53in the wet season.
16:55Water's going to come up about this high,
16:57maybe even a bit higher.
16:59So we've gone for extra height in the fence
17:01and the fencing structure
17:03is going to be absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.
17:06If only I knew
17:08how interesting that sounds.
17:09If only I knew
17:11how interesting that statement is going to become.
17:13Nothing would prepare us
17:15for what's coming up.
17:20What I want to do
17:22is I want to build a giant mound in here.
17:28Mound it right up
17:30and this will be the major attack bank.
17:33So when he comes out,
17:35he's got to go up a bit of a hill
17:37and I'll just feed him right up.
17:39Come on, quick.
17:41Get out.
17:43Hurry up.
17:45All the way.
17:47Hurry up.
17:49Hurry up.
17:51And that's about it for the construction.
17:54Come on, big bloke.
17:56And now it's back to the job at hand.
17:58That'll do you.
18:00We've captured him
18:02and now we've got to release him
18:04back into his new territory,
18:06his new environment.
18:08Sorry about that, mate.
18:10Wes is the director of the zoo
18:12and he takes this very seriously.
18:14He loves every single crocodile,
18:16including Graham.
18:22So once again,
18:24the release is going to be just like the capture.
18:26Plenty of people power,
18:28putting in strength and sheer muscle
18:30to hold him, restraining
18:32until we get him into a position
18:34where we can undo the ropes
18:36It's a beautiful new environment
18:38he's going into.
18:40Nice big billabong
18:42where he can actually swim
18:44to his heart's content.
18:46He can grow to 20 feet
18:48and he'll be really happy
18:50with his cute little Sheila Bindi.
18:52She's gorgeous.
18:54Okay, mattress out.
18:56Notice how everyone keeps their hands on.
18:58Even though he's not struggling,
19:00everyone's just keeping the pressure on,
19:02waiting, feeling, sensing
19:03that he's about to struggle.
19:07Need the top jaw ropes out.
19:09He's got enough power in that tail
19:11to get a good thrash up
19:13and snap someone's leg around about the knee.
19:17Okay, so take all the canvas off.
19:19Right off.
19:21Get ready to put weight on him.
19:25Everything's going according to plan.
19:27Right out.
19:29It's just like the rehearsal.
19:31Sliding forward.
19:33He's got to go.
19:36See how he could sense
19:38when he's starting to stress
19:40and we just put the weight on
19:42and that stops him from struggling too much
19:44because we're getting to a point
19:46where it's getting critical.
19:48We're just going to slide him
19:50towards the water a bit.
19:52A bit more.
19:54Brino, get in there.
19:56Terry, you stay where you are.
19:58Everyone else off.
20:00Get off.
20:01Ready, go.
20:05Okay, everyone back up.
20:07Woo-hoo!
20:09And he's out of there.
20:11Did you see that?
20:13Just stay back a minute.
20:15He's really angry.
20:17In fact, he's coming back.
20:19Did you see that?
20:21As soon as everyone cleared off,
20:23bang, he's hit the water
20:25and he's angry.
20:27Here he comes.
20:29Hey, what are you doing?
20:31What are you doing, naughty?
20:34You can see it in his eye.
20:36He's got the fire in his eyes.
20:38He's not happy at all.
20:40Really grumpy.
20:43We see you there, big boy.
20:45We see you.
20:53Well, that was a very successful
20:55capture and release.
20:57Went as smooth as.
20:59He's gone back out and come back over here.
21:01He's really grumpy.
21:03He's still down here.
21:05What we're going to have to do is try
21:07and let him feel his way through here,
21:09get him set up with his gorgeous girl
21:11and then the final stage will be,
21:13what are you doing, mate?
21:15Are you angry?
21:17Are you an angry croc?
21:19Look at his eyes.
21:21He's got anger written all over his face.
21:23I reckon this will be the last time
21:26we'll ever have to lay a hand on Graham,
21:29which is excellent.
21:31He's got a lot of blood involved,
21:33particularly on him.
21:35Once bitten, twice shy.
21:37Looks like we've got away with it this time
21:39without anyone losing any blood.
21:41He never even lost a scale,
21:43which is excellent.
21:45He'll be able to live his life out in here.
21:47He'll be able to grow to 20 feet in length.
21:49Beautiful girl to curl up with at night.
21:51Sensational.
21:53Let's see what happens when he feeds.
21:55I wonder who he remembers.
21:59Here's a little flashback,
22:01Graham has got the feistiest sheila
22:04on the face of the earth.
22:06This is Bindi,
22:08and she is one aggressive little sheila.
22:11She'll bite at every chance,
22:13thrash at every moment,
22:15and she is one heck of a handful.
22:17Terry and I captured her a few years ago
22:19and put her in with Graham,
22:21and it was a match made in heaven.
22:23They get on like a house on fire.
22:25By crikey, they're lovers.
22:27And every single year,
22:29they build a big nest
22:31and bring that nest together.
22:33Oh gosh, isn't she cute?
22:35As grumpy as she is,
22:37she's still a very pretty girl.
22:39So I'm going to go in there,
22:41the white bucket,
22:43into her feeding corner,
22:45and what I'll do is I'll try
22:47and get her into the feed mode,
22:49suck her out on land.
22:51I need Fred on top jaw rope one.
22:53Okay, is there any questions anyone's got?
22:55Rightio.
22:57Catching Bindi's going to be a lot easier
22:59than catching Graham.
23:01She'd be flat out being nine feet.
23:03So if we get into any drama,
23:05I'll probably call it.
23:07Just give me her bell.
23:09Yeah, no problem.
23:11One thing she is,
23:13she's really hard and really fast.
23:15She's a mean little bugger.
23:17Yeah, she's naughty.
23:19That's why her nickname's Jane Collins, mate.
23:21Yeah, you're too right.
23:23So we're going to go at this
23:25exactly the same as when we caught Graham,
23:27just like it's a standard, normal feed.
23:29So I'm going to call Graham up.
23:32Show us the bucket, mate.
23:35Little bit of food,
23:37white bucket,
23:39try and get her stimulated to feed.
23:42Come on, sweetheart.
23:45Everyone backing off.
23:47Whoa!
23:50She strikes fast,
23:52and she means business.
23:57Give me another top jaw rope.
23:59Look at that death roll,
24:01straight up the rope.
24:03Now she's got all of the rope.
24:05There's no way we're going to be able
24:07to hold her like this.
24:09Sure enough, we lost her.
24:11There's a sign of strength for you.
24:14Curled that piece of rope up
24:16like spaghetti on a fork.
24:21Straight up to my hand.
24:23She'd whip your hand off
24:25as soon as you look at it.
24:29Bamboo.
24:32Crocodiles are just like people.
24:34Each and every crocodile
24:36has its own personality.
24:38And little Bindi here,
24:40she's quite a personality.
24:42Everyone loves her,
24:44but she's got a very,
24:46very nasty trait.
24:48Tell you what,
24:50I've tossed a few crocodiles here and there,
24:52and I haven't met a sheila
24:54that is grumpier, more aggressive,
24:56more hard hitting than Bindi.
24:58Just a little shocker.
25:03And now,
25:05it's going to be a big game
25:07because we're in her element.
25:09She's in her billabong.
25:11She knows it like the back
25:13of her little webbed foot.
25:15She knows every nook and cranny.
25:17And we've got to try somehow
25:19to get her to bite down
25:21on a top jaw rope.
25:23There's a bite.
25:25Here's another top jaw rope.
25:26Another bite and a miss.
25:30We use bamboo poles
25:32so she can bite them, crush them,
25:34kill them and break them,
25:36and she won't hurt her head or her teeth.
25:42There she is.
25:44She's got the stick.
25:46Top jaw rope.
25:48What have we got?
25:50We've got a rope on somewhere.
25:52It's round her tail.
25:54Critical.
25:56Steady, Wes.
25:58Notice how when you grab her by the tail
26:00she can come right back on her own axes
26:02and actually grab the hands
26:04that's got her tail.
26:06Terry's desperately trying to get a top jaw rope on.
26:08Unsuccessfully.
26:10She's biting everything she gets around.
26:12Here she comes.
26:14Death roll.
26:16She's got to swing.
26:21Rhino's got to jump in.
26:23This guy is hot with a top jaw rope.
26:24This guy is accurate.
26:26One miss.
26:28Got it.
26:30Go brighter.
26:32Death roll.
26:34Yes!
26:38She's a little tired
26:40so three of us are able to hold her down.
26:46Boy, she's strong.
26:48She is so strong.
26:51We knew she wouldn't come without a fight.
26:53She's an aggressive little sheila.
26:55Crikey, we love you.
26:57She's so cute.
27:03Same technique again.
27:05Tarp around the head.
27:07Blindfold.
27:09Blindfolding crocodiles is essential.
27:11It's critical.
27:13We don't use drugs.
27:15Drugs kill crocodiles.
27:17So we wrap the blindfold around
27:19and they sit in a more torpid state.
27:21Stewie, over, grab the tail.
27:23You got enough people up there?
27:25She's going to go.
27:29Notice how once you get that blindfold on
27:31they settle right down.
27:33Over the fence with ease.
27:36She's only nine foot
27:38which makes her a lot easier to shift around
27:40than her big male.
27:45Down onto the big tarp
27:47to be wrapped up like a hot dog
27:48and into the big green truck
27:50to be shifted over with Graham.
27:55Into the big green tarp
27:57where she can be wrapped up
27:59and nice and secure.
28:01And she's small enough
28:03that we can carry her anywhere we want.
28:05We won't need a vehicle.
28:07Far to go now, sweetheart.
28:09It's really unfortunate
28:11that you have to put them through
28:13the stress of capture and transport.
28:15But it doesn't get any easier than this.
28:17No drugs.
28:19No sharp objects.
28:21Everything's nice and soft.
28:23Pliable.
28:25She's a fiery beast.
28:27She's a wild animal.
28:29She's a wild animal.
28:31She's a wild animal.
28:33She's a wild animal.
28:35She's a fiery girl.
28:37Really, really fiery.
28:39But it's great.
28:41We love that in a crocodile, right?
28:43Interesting how
28:45at nine and a half feet odd
28:47she can throw nine people
28:49all around the paddock.
28:51She's a good girl.
28:57Coming in here, Kel.
28:59Keep down, Scope.
29:03Kelsey,
29:05you better get Graham, mate.
29:07I want this tarp right out of here, though.
29:09So now that we're in
29:11the new territory
29:13we're going to have to get a team
29:15that strictly looks after Graham.
29:17He's in there somewhere
29:19and he's going to be grumpy
29:21because we're mucking around with his girl.
29:23He loves his girl.
29:25He loves his girl like I love my wife, Terry.
29:26Ready to go.
29:28Tobe and Fred, you're out.
29:30OK, Wes, go.
29:33And there she is.
29:35Go, Dad.
29:42Straight into her clear water hole
29:44and she's looking at the big billabong thinking
29:46ooh, I'm going in there.
29:48You see that little bit of rope on her bottom jaw?
29:50It's cut free.
29:52She'll spit that as soon as she goes in the water.
29:56In she goes.
29:58Yeah.
30:00That's the go.
30:02Look at her.
30:04Unscathed.
30:06Straight into a nice big environment.
30:09She's about to swim straight over the top of Graham.
30:12That's the way we want to see crocodiles
30:14captured, restrained and transported.
30:17Fast, fast, fast.
30:19Just the way they hit.
30:21Rapid transit.
30:27And that was just one half
30:29of the big move here at Australia Zoo.
30:32Now we've got to catch another pair of crocodiles
30:35to put into Graham and Bindi's old house.
30:38Have a go at this one.
30:40Woohoo!
30:42Launching straight at my abdomen trying to bite me.
30:45He's like greased lightning.
30:47Can I have that other top jaw out too?
30:49And now that he's felt the rope,
30:51he's gone into the water
30:53and he's wise to us wanting to catch him.
30:54There comes a time in every bloke's life
30:56that you reach sexual maturity or adolescence.
30:59And that's what's happened with this guy.
31:01And he's got really toey, extremely toey.
31:04He's biting the fence.
31:06You can see over here
31:08these big hits on the fence
31:10at her.
31:12He's pushed her out up the back there.
31:14So times come where he has to get shifted
31:16into a bigger territory
31:18where he can have his own big territory
31:20and when he grows a brain,
31:22when he settles down a little bit,
31:24he's a female.
31:26His name's Bluey.
31:28He hits hard
31:30and fast.
31:32But their cluey is Bluey.
31:34Just got to wait,
31:36wait for him to come up.
31:38He'll surface.
31:40I'll show him the food
31:42and we should be on.
31:44Catching crocodiles
31:46is not always about wham, bam, action, man.
31:48Nah,
31:50this time it's going to require a bit of patience.
31:52Old Bluey,
31:54he felt the rope when he first attacked
31:56and now he's smart to us.
31:58Well,
32:00when you're catching crocodiles,
32:02it's the A, B, C.
32:04This was plan A
32:06and now we might have to try plan B
32:08and if that fails, we've got plan C.
32:13You see the bubbles of him moving around.
32:16So now we've got to try and get him
32:18to bite a top jaw rope
32:19with a bamboo pole.
32:23There's his bubbles
32:26and it's not working.
32:28He keeps moving round and round.
32:32Plan B isn't going to work either
32:34so now I go for plan C
32:37which is astronomically scary.
32:40I've got to feel around with my toes.
32:43Got his tail.
32:45Is his tail? I've got his tail.
32:47I'm going to slide the rope up on his tail.
32:49I'm going to slide the rope up on his head
32:51because if I touched his head
32:53he would have bitten me by now.
32:55Go Teddy, pull it up.
32:57Yes, she's got him.
32:59Go for a top jaw, Stevo.
33:01Whoa!
33:03Without getting bitten.
33:06Or not.
33:09He's tired enough
33:11that I was able to just jump on him.
33:13Get the blindfold on.
33:15Whew!
33:17Sharing water with crocodiles
33:19and when I saw how hard he struck at me
33:21when I first went into his enclosure
33:23he could have bitten me down hard.
33:25It's all about knowing your animal.
33:27When I went in there
33:29I knew that he was unlikely to bite
33:31because he'd already felt the bamboo poles
33:33and luckily, as luck would have it
33:35I got his tail and not his head
33:37so I was able to slide the rope up on his tail
33:39and secure it.
33:41Whoa!
33:43It would have been too hard to get a top jaw rope on
33:45so I decided just to whip him out by the tail
33:47and jump on him.
33:49Here, one, two people can handle this size croc
33:51no problem at all.
33:53Graham, ten, eleven people.
33:55Bindi, eight, nine people.
33:58Little bluey here, two people.
34:00We can do it.
34:06And here we are
34:08back over at Graham and Bindi's old enclosure.
34:11Just got to roll in there
34:13and let him go.
34:16This is the last fence.
34:17Over he goes.
34:25Get him close to the water
34:27so when the blindfold comes off
34:29he runs into the water rather than striking at me.
34:31Here he is.
34:34He's tired.
34:36Look how tired he is.
34:38Crocodiles tire very quickly.
34:48Phew!
34:50Mission accomplished.
34:52Match making crocodiles
34:54never comes easy in captivity.
34:56It's always easy out in the bush
34:58but here in captivity it's hit and miss
35:00so Brian and Kelsey
35:02are going to try and catch Cassie
35:04and see if she likes Bluey.
35:06Woo!
35:08Match making crocodiles.
35:10Good job, Briano.
35:12Watch your hands, mate.
35:14He's got him, he's got him.
35:15Cassie's a beautiful,
35:17a more quiet little female
35:19which we think will get on pretty well with Bluey.
35:21Okay, up.
35:25So we're going to take her straight over
35:27and drop her in with Bluey
35:29and see what happens.
35:32Let's hope Bluey doesn't strike.
35:34Here we go.
35:36And let her go.
35:41All I've got to do
35:43is just try and get that one little blue rope out.
35:45All right, she's ready to go.
35:47You've got her, Wes.
35:49Okay, I'm out, Wes, you call it.
35:51Okay, Wes.
35:53Everyone out except one person.
35:55Okay, you go to your right,
35:57I'll go to the left.
35:59And she's in.
36:01When you put two crocs together
36:03for the first time
36:05sometimes they get on
36:07and sometimes they don't
36:09and in this case
36:11we've got World War 3 on our hands.
36:13This is exactly what they do in the wild.
36:17Headbutt each other.
36:20And they mean business.
36:22It's like steel on steel.
36:25Seems to me that Cassie's being the aggressor.
36:29She's actually hitting him.
36:31He's just holding his ground.
36:33He's doing a great job.
36:35We're going to go again.
36:37What do you reckon?
36:39I go around and put her in the water.
36:40Yep, great.
36:42You'll be my backup if anything happens then, Wes.
36:44You're right, Stewie, I'm going.
36:47Doesn't that sound just bone-crunchy?
36:52And so we're going to try and break it up
36:54by putting one of the crocs in the water.
36:56You want to fight, you pick on me, sweetheart.
36:58Hey, come on then.
37:01Watch it, Steve-O.
37:05Quick, I think you both better go in the water.
37:07Can you go?
37:09Can you go in too?
37:11Quick, quick.
37:15I'll catch you.
37:18I'll catch both of you.
37:20That's good.
37:22This is the first time they've actually had a biff together
37:24since they've been in, so maybe they could even be
37:26just feeling out in the water with that luck.
37:28Oh, nut.
37:30They're going to fight in the water.
37:36Crocodiles have been fighting like this in the wild
37:38for millions of years.
37:40This is how they sort out dominance and territory.
37:42And this is why, in a natural population,
37:44in a natural environment,
37:46you'll never ever get an overpopulation of crocodile.
37:49They'll hit each other till they destroy each other.
37:52Sometimes crocs will fight to the death,
37:55and you can hear that bone-crunchy crash
37:58as they head-butt each other,
38:00snapping their teeth, breaking their teeth.
38:05Crikey, they hit hard.
38:07Back off. None of them is backing off.
38:09Take it serious.
38:12If they don't work it out,
38:14we're going to have to sort something out really quickly.
38:16That's it. Righto, split them up.
38:18Take it serious.
38:22Catching crocodiles never goes the same way twice.
38:25You never know quite what to expect.
38:27And when it comes to my team
38:29and the protection of crocodiles,
38:31I have no qualms about putting my life,
38:33all limbs, on the line.
38:36Tell you what,
38:38there's nothing like a good rugged set of boots.
38:40This happens.
38:42The crocodiles haven't got on.
38:44It isn't a match made in heaven.
38:46Bluey's got to come out.
38:48There's no if, buts, mights or maybes.
38:50If we left them together, they could kill each other.
38:52But here's where I make a critical mistake.
38:54We've got no ropes on him.
38:56We've just blindfolded him,
38:58pushed him up inside the box,
39:00and I'm assuming that he can't get out.
39:02What a mistake.
39:04Yeah, you swap with Brendo.
39:07You're going to see some really quick thinking coming up here.
39:12Life-saving quick thinking.
39:16See those blokes on their knees?
39:18That guy there, Toby,
39:20curator of crocodiles,
39:22legend in his own right.
39:25Watch what happens here.
39:32Oh, I had to jam my foot in the croc's mouth
39:34otherwise it would have grabbed Toby on the head.
39:37Have a look at those holes.
39:39Straight through the leather.
39:41These are the best boots in the world.
39:43I'd strongly recommend this.
39:45Eight-foot crocodile hanging on me shoe,
39:47just shaking it,
39:49and I'm not bleeding.
39:51Bruised, but not bleeding.
39:53If I hadn't have done it,
39:55that would have been Toby's head.
39:57And we've decided to put him in a crate
39:59because we've got to take him straight back through the zoo
40:01and it's now peak period at Australia Zoo.
40:04The place is chock-a-block full of patrons.
40:07Guests, visitors, kids.
40:09We can't take the risk of anyone coming around a free croc.
40:21Oh, there he is.
40:26Bruised and battered from his head-clashing competition
40:29with Cassie,
40:31he heads straight back into his hole.
40:37Graeme's settled into his new territory nicely.
40:40Beautiful transition
40:42where he's come out of one environment
40:44and into the other.
40:46And Bindi's doing great too.
40:48Now, we've got to test the waters
40:50by going in there and trialling him
40:52with his first feed.
40:54This could be a little volatile.
40:56And this is Graeme's first encounter
40:59with the patrons of Australia Zoo.
41:02And the first time he's been out
41:05for everyone to see at Australia Zoo.
41:23Good hit, Graeme.
41:29You're looking at a modern-day dinosaur.
41:32200 million years they date back.
41:36I see you, boy.
41:38Here you go. Here, here, here, here.
41:40Here you go, mate. Here you go. Here you go.
41:42There's a good boy.
41:44And he's hitting hard like he always used to.
41:50Watch what happens when I touch his water.
41:52He doesn't like it.
41:54That's an infringement of his territory.
41:56Those are naughty boys.
41:58People are captivated
42:00and he's hitting like a ton of bricks.
42:02Go, Graeme.
42:04Come on, big boy.
42:13Steady, Steve-o.
42:16The crowd love it when I nearly die.
42:20See when you touch his water
42:22how upset he gets.
42:27Come on then, mate.
42:29He's doing well. This is great.
42:31Here's the ultimate demonstration
42:33that our capture and release was perfect.
42:36He's looking good.
42:38Real good.
42:43And he's in his prime.
42:45All the zoo staff are totally stoked.
42:51Now for the ultimate test.
42:53Will he let me go in his water?
42:54Come on, hugs.
42:56I'm pretty sure he's sitting on the bank thinking
42:59I don't like that bloke in my water.
43:02He's making it stink.
43:04Here he comes.
43:14That's my boot.
43:16And that's the biggest mistake anyone can make in Australia.
43:19Sharing water with crocodiles
43:21is a very, very big mistake.
43:24He's going in the boot.
43:26Here you go, mate.
43:28He'd get food poisoning if he ate that, Steve-o.
43:31Come on, buddy.
43:35Here you go, hugs.
43:37Come on.
43:39Here you go.
43:41You want it?
43:43You can see after all that feeding and all that action
43:45he settled down, slowed down
43:47and now I should be able to get around close enough
43:50to have a good close look at him.
43:51Check him out.
43:53The rub marks, score marks, injuries.
43:55He looks great.
44:01And the crowd love it.
44:03Me too.
44:05What a little beauty.
44:09Everything's gone so smooth
44:11until we hit a flood of biblical proportions.
44:14The boss who saved a Sunshine Coast man
44:16from the jaws of a crocodile
44:18says he was just acting on instinct.
44:20Croc hunter Steve Irwin says
44:22his colleague was lucky not to have lost his leg.
44:24On Friday night they entered
44:26the happy home and territory
44:28of Graham and his girlfriend Bindi.
44:30They thought they were safe.
44:32We've been here since 1970
44:34and we've been dealing with floods
44:36virtually every single year
44:38and this one took the cake.
44:40It was a big flood.
44:41And this one took the cake.
44:43It was an absolute steamer.
44:45I mean this is a flood where
44:47human fatality took place.
44:49Crocs love floodwaters.
44:51I mean that's when they take over the land.
44:53We jumped in, we started cleaning
44:55debris out of the fence.
44:57Seconds later Graham has snuck in
44:59whack and hit Wes right in the thigh.
45:02Those teeth punctured Wes
45:04in the buttocks and leg.
45:06Irwin did what he does best
45:08jumping on the croc's back.
45:09But Graham let go.
45:11When the crocs hit
45:13he's kind of driven him
45:15and so instantaneously I've just jumped
45:17grabbed hold of the croc
45:19right around the back legs
45:21and hung onto his back legs.
45:23Wes is a big guy.
45:25He's like 90 kilos.
45:27He's actually rolled out of the crocodile's mouth
45:29which gives me the opportunity
45:31to grab hold of his leg, pull it up
45:33grab hold of our safety equipment
45:35which is one of these.
45:37We call it a safety stick.
45:39He's got onto the fence.
45:41Now this is the most critical point.
45:43Wes has got onto the fence
45:45he's taken a big set of punctures in his leg
45:47and then he pivoted on the fence
45:49and when I looked up
45:51he was on the fence
45:53staring back down at me
45:55ready to jump back in.
45:57Zoo director Wes Mannion
45:59is recovering in hospital.
46:01His boss Steve Irwin
46:03aka the crocodile hunter
46:05has become his hero.
46:07I got to save my best mates life
46:09and Wes made a full recovery
46:11really quick.
46:13Crocs are like people.
46:15He believed that night he won
46:17and he got me out of his territory
46:19which is good for him.
46:21That's his job.
46:23That's a crocodile's job.
46:25He did the best thing.
46:27He got me and Steve out of his enclosure
46:29as quickly as he wanted to.
46:31That's good for his psyche.
46:33Looking back on that night
46:35Wes and I still get goosebumps.
46:37A flood of biblical proportions
46:39through Graham's new environment.
46:41We were already nervous.
46:43The crocs were on edge.
46:45They're just loving the flood water
46:47because the land becomes water
46:49which becomes their territory.
46:52We had to go in.
46:54We had to clean the debris.
46:57And thank goodness
46:59our emergency procedures
47:01are that good and so well rehearsed.
47:03That night we went in
47:05quite frankly it was just sheer instinct
47:07that Wes got his leg in his mouth
47:09and bite back.
47:12The rain.
47:14The night.
47:16It's confusing.
47:18It's flooded.
47:20It's adrenaline.
47:22He started throwing debris out.
47:24He's hit.
47:26There's no way I'm going to let my best mate die.
47:28I'm grabbed hold of the croc.
47:30Wes is rolled out of his mouth
47:32and before Graham could hit him in the head
47:34Wes got up the fence.
47:36I grabbed the stick.
47:37I drove on the fence
47:39and we're clear.
47:41We jumped the fence
47:43and it wasn't until we got about 3 or 4 metres
47:45before I thought to think
47:47how's Wes's leg?
47:49Come on Wes, come on mate, we've got to go.
47:51Keep moving Wes, come on mate.
47:53I've just got to get you up on this high ground
47:55and check your wounds.
47:57Come on mate, you can do it.
48:02And that's it.
48:04He's got his leg, he's got his life
48:05and Graham, he's got his territory.
48:08Mate, no doubt about it
48:10Graham had the last bite
48:12and that's the way it should be.
48:14Crocodiles are apex predators
48:16right at the top of the food chain.
48:18We love him with all our hearts.
48:20You just can't kiss him on the lips
48:22because he'll snap you in half.
48:24Well, what an epic Graham's revenge.
48:27He's got the last bite on us.
48:35For more information visit www.fema.gov