He's been called "Fang" by Magnetic Island zoologist, Mr Eric Vanderduys, who noticed that the reptile had teeth protruding through his nose, when he spotted and photographed the 3.1 metre crocodile, seen over a number of days, at Nelly Bay. But Fang has now been captured by Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers at Nelly Bay.

QPWS North Queensland Marine Parks Regional Manager, Richard Quincey, said the male crocodile was captured at midnight on Tuesday night.

“The crocodile was captured by QPWS staffing using a non-lethal harpooning method which secures a barb into the animal’s flesh but causes no long term injury.

“The crocodile was transported to QPWS facility at Pallarenda in Townsville and will be relocated to a crocodile farm or zoo as soon as possible.

It seems that Fang wasn't in great condition. Eric quipped that, "He's a vegetarian croc (you can tell by the algae stuck in his teeth) who goes by the name of Fang, on account of the tooth poking up through his nose".

Richard Quincey said, “The animal has an eye injury or condition.”

Mr Quincey said extensive spotlighting surveys over the past five nights by QPWS rangers found no evidence to support some suggestions that there may be two crocodiles in Nelly Bay.

Photo of Fang, courtesy of Mr Eric Vanderduys