Parents Forgive Crocodile After It Ate Their Child

On February 8th, small Jeremy Doble disappeared while playing with his brother and their dog on the banks of a flooded mangrove swamp, in Australia. Since then, parents have been looking for him like crazy, turning the swamp upside down and scouting every corner. In the end, authorities started examining the bellies of crocodiles in the area, convinced that the boy had been eaten. Unfortunately, they turned out to be right, and the boy's remains were found in the stomach of one animal. Surprisingly enough, his parents decided to let the crocodile live.

A federal law adopted in 1971 prevents people from hunting crocodiles, in order to protect their endangered species. However, if one of them is deemed to be a threat to humans, it can be killed, so as to ensure the safety of the population. The boy's brother, Ryan, told the police that he had seen a crocodile near where they were playing, but added that he didn't witness the attack, which caused the widespread search in the first place.

The boy's parents, who run a crocodile sightseeing organization, probably understood the fact that the animal was merely trying to protect its territory from an intruder, and urged authorities not to kill it. Instead, it is to be transfered to a reservation or a zoo, where it will live the remainder of its days in captivity. According to The Courier-Mail newspaper, Queensland authorities were surprised at the decision, but said that they would respect the wish of the parents.

Over the years, numerous cases of crocodiles attacking humans have been recorded, but most of them were related to the animals trying to defend themselves in the wild, or with them not putting up with their program in zoos. Those who spend a lot of time with the creatures say that they will not attack if unprovoked, and that a crocodile has to be starved before it will feast on a human of its own accord.