Rangers shot dead a 14-foot crocodile after it killed a girl swimming in an Australian creek

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rangers have shot dead a 14-foot saltwater crocodile in Australia after it killed a 12-year-old girl while she was swimming with her family. Wildlife rangers had been attempting to trap or shoot the crocodile since the girl was attacked last week in Mango Creek near Palumpa, an Indigenous community in the Northern Territory. Police said the rangers shot the animal Sunday after getting permission from the region’s traditional landowners. Saltwater crocodiles are considered a totem by many Indigenous Australians. Police said Wednesday analysis had confirmed the animal was the one that killed the girl. The first fatal crocodile attack in the Northern Territory since 2018 has rekindled debate over whether more should be done to curb the crocodile population.