'Built on lies': Australia Zoo under fire over totem crocodile's welfare

Australia Zoo calls police on traditional owner who came to see totem crocodile Old Faithful Sat 20 Jun 2026 at 12:05pm Alwyn Lyall says he felt "extremely upset and humiliated" when, in front of tourists and staff, police asked him to leave Australia Zoo. "I'm not threatening anybody," he calmly told the two officers who had been called by the zoo's managers. "I'm not trying to trespass on the property. All I'm asking for is information." Mr Lyall, a traditional owner from Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park in Far North Queensland, had travelled to the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction, made famous by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, to see an almost 5-metre-long saltwater crocodile named Old Faithful. The 80-plus-year-old animal is considered a totem, or like family, to his community. Under Queensland law, Old Faithful is also classified as an "icon crocodile", requiring special considerations. Irwin himself had in the past interacted with the crocodile in North Queensland. Earlier this year, a 7.30 investigation revealed the department responsible for Old Faithful's capture and transfer to Australia Zoo may have breached statutory obligations, resulting in a falling out between traditional owners and the state government, and the consideration of a human rights complaint by lawyers at the Environmental Defenders Office. "The management seem to be hiding," Mr Lyall says in the video recorded outside the zoo on June 3. "I gave them notice yesterday, emailed and rang them, and it seems no-one can find the time to see me." Mr Lyall believes the crocodile was "wrongfully arrested" by "cowboys" from Queensland's environment department, DETSI, before being transferred 1,700 kilometres from Far North Queensland to Australia Zoo in a deal he says was done "behind closed doors". Mr Lyall says he spoke with customer service attendants at the zoo before talking with another member of staff, who he says he apologised to "because I knew she wasn't part of management, part of the problem". But he initially refused to leave because of the "bigger issue at play". Police confirmed zoo management called them to move him on. "This whole saga, from the beginning, has been built on lies," Mr Lyall told 7.30. Australia Zoo was contacted for comment and did not respond. However Mr Lyall says he got the message "loud and clear" via the police officers who moved him on. In the video showing the brief interaction, one officer tells him: "We have spoken to the managers here, and they don't want you coming back." "I don't think Terri Irwin knows what's going on," Mr Alwyn told 7.30. "Or if she does, the attitude seems to be: put your head in the sand and hope it'll go away." "Steve was an environmentalist. He wouldn't have wanted this for Old Faithful. From what I know, he loved keeping animals in the wild." 7.30 sought an update on Old Faithful's welfare and was told by environment department staff that any suggestion the crocodile might not be "alive and well" was categorically untrue. "Why then is it so hard to send me a photo or a written update?" Mr Lyall asked. A DETSI spokesperson said they spoke to Mr Lyall on June 3, the day he attended the zoo, and also "reached out to him to arrange a subsequent meeting". Six months of silence It was September last year when Old Faithful's plight made national headlines. After the crocodile was caught it was kept in captivity at a Cairns holding facility. Mr Lyall alleges the government breached its obligations by abandoning consultation over the crocodile's future. Ultimately, Mr Lyall concluded the crocodile's transfer to Australia Zoo was a deal "done in the dark". His concerns deepened after learning multiple crocodiles had died following similar long-distance transfers within Queensland. His efforts to seek an update on Old Faithful's welfare have "surprised and disgusted" him. In a letter sent to Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell earlier this month, Mr Lyall questioned why "transparency has been so difficult to achieve throughout this process, and why traditional owners have repeatedly had to pursue information, access and engagement that should have been offered as a matter of course". He pointed to a public document, penned by the department, which he believes is hypocritical. The document outlines DETSI's response to key issues raised by the Katter Party's Crocodile Control and Conservation Bill last year, which proposed setting up a new crocodile authority and culling problematic crocodiles. In a section concerning "cultural rights", DETSI wrote that "the department recognises that crocodiles are a culturally significant totemic species and hold high cultural value for many First Nations peoples and communities across Queensland". "Management decisions involving captured icon crocodiles [larger than 4 metres] in particular, are made in close consultation with the relevant traditional owners. "To the greatest extent possible, the department will continue to engage with individual First Nations groups regarding their preferred degree of involvement and the unique cultural considerations applicable to individual local communities around the potential declaration and or removal of problem crocodiles." Despite that submission, Mr Lyall said he hadn't heard from the environment minister in several months. "It's absolutely unusual. Any publicly elected person should respond, not leave such a significant stakeholder with so many unanswered questions," Shadow Environment Minister Leanne Linard, who has spoken with Mr Lyall, told 7.30. "This has been so poorly handled from the beginning. All the traditional owners want is to be heard and respected." Mr Powell told 7.30 the comments made by the shadow environment minister were "nonsense", and Queensland's Labor Party "should stop spreading speculative misinformation". But Mr Powell didn't answer any of 7.30's questions about concerns of eroded trust, or about meeting traditional owners themselves. 'They are ancestors' Environmental lawyers and advocates say it is symptomatic of a broader issue. "This has never been about one crocodile alone," Amanda French from the Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC) said. "Old Faithful has become a symbol of how cultural rights should be recognised and respected within wildlife management decisions." Kirstiana Ward, a lawyer from the Environmental Defenders Office who has been involved in the human rights complaint, says the Old Faithful case has reverberated across Queensland's Aboriginal communities. Loading..."In my experience, many traditional owners feel their knowledge and cultural responsibilities are treated as secondary considerations, rather than integral parts of wildlife management," she said. "For many, crocodiles are not simply wildlife, they are ancestors, totems, teachers, and their removal or mistreatment has profound cultural impacts if done without meaningful engagement." My Lyall remains hopeful of rebuilding a relationship with the government. "Rather than continuing to revisit the mistakes of the past, I would like to work with you to establish a more proactive and collaborative path forward," he wrote to the minister. "A Cape York traditional owner roundtable on crocodile management would be an important first step towards achieving that outcome." 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