It's 40 years since the smash hit romantic comedy Crocodile Dundee was released, starring Paul Hogan as the hard-bitten Aussie bushman. The 1986 flick, which co-starred Linda Kozlowski as reporter Sue Charlton, tells the story of Mick Dundee – a man said to have wrestled ferocious saltwater crocs. It went on to become a box office smash and spawned two sequels. Here, ahead of the anniversary, JAMES MOORE looks at some daring real-life characters from Down Under who match Dundee’s fictional exploits.
56 Day Survival
Tough bushman Rod Ansell is said to have partly inspired Hogan’s Mick Dundee character. In May 1977 the 22-year-old buffalo catcher disappeared after he went on a fishing trip and his boat capsized on the remote Victoria River in the Northern Territory. Managing to get to land with a few supplies, a rifle and his bull terrier dogs, he was 120 miles from the nearest human habitation and had no fresh water. However, he managed to survive for 56 days in the Outback, hunting cattle – even drinking their blood – and eating wild honey. He slept in the fork of a tree to stay out of reach of crocodiles, but shared it with a snake. During his ordeal he was forced to shoot an attacking 16ft croc, keeping its head as a souvenir. Eventually Ansell was rescued by some passing Aboriginal men, but reckoned his experiences were really ‘no big deal’. He later said: “When Crocodile Dundee came out… people started ringing me up and saying they saw all these similarities between my experience and the movie.” Ansell later married, had two children and was divorced. In a bitter twist he became addicted to drugs and ended up shooting an Aussie cop on August 3, 1999. He was killed, aged 44, in an ensuing police shoot-out.
Killed 20,000 Beasts
His mentor, known as ‘German Jack’, was famous for catching four of the largest crocodiles ever held in captivity and taught Mick Pitman everything he knew about the ferocious ‘salties’. ‘Crocodile Mick’, from Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, would go on to kill an estimated 20,000 in 37 years, first as a poacher and then with official permits, often dealing with problem crocs attacking cattle on ranches. It’s illegal to hunt crocodiles in Oz, since a ban in 1971. They’re now a protected species. Mick’s methods to despatch the beasts, which can weight up to 3000lbs, have ranged from shooting them to harpoons and traps, even spending weeks stalking them. He once managed to hunt down a 16ft monster. But on another occasion a croc launched itself over the self-confessed adrenalin junkie’s boat and he admits: “I’ve had lots of close calls.” After killing a croc Mick skins the beasts and performs taxidermy on them.
Eight-Fingered Croc Wrangler
Crocodile ranger Tommy Nichols is famous for his work in Darwin Harbour catching 300 of the reptiles a year, using traps, in a bid to reduce the number of attacks on humans and other animals. Officially known as a Crocodile Management wildlife officer, he carried on his work into his 70s - despite once having two fingers munched off his left hand by one of the critters. A big saltie latched on to Nichols’ hand in the early Noughties while he was trying to retrieve it from a trap, despite getting a rope around its snout. He recalled: “He let go after the first bite but as he let go he grabbed my hand again and ripped two of my fingers off plus part of my palm. There is no safe croc, that’s for sure.” After catching the crocs Nichols and his team send them to a crocodile farm. His work has been featured in National Geographic series The Croc Catchers.
Tragic TV Icon
Steve Irwin was dubbed the ‘Crocodile Hunter’ – also the name given to the famous TV show he hosted. The conservationist wasn’t aiming to kill the creatures, but he was an expert in trapping them. He began handling and wrestling crocs aged nine, working in his dad’s reptile park in Queensland and went on to work as a volunteer capturing and relocating 100 of the animals. He and wife Terri even spent their 1992 honeymoon trapping crocs in North Queensland and they went on to run the successful Australia Zoo. Despite their deadly threat, Irwin fought to conserve saltwater crocs, respecting them as the nation’s “ultimate predator.” He once said: “Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you . People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.” Sadly, Irwin died in 2006, aged 44, from a barb fired into his chest by a stingray while filming in the Great Barrier Reef. His work has been carried on by his family including daughter Bindi, named after one of Irwin’s favourite saltwater crocs.
Royal Croc Hunter
In 1956, back when hunting wild crocs was still legal and in vogue, Prince Philip shot a 6ft crocodile on trip Down Under. His guide that night was the veteran croc hunter George Haritos and his three brothers, who used to hunt the reptiles for their skins. The then Duke of Edinburgh felled the beast in Pioneer Creek, near Darwin Harbour, with a single shot. Haritos later recalled: “It was quite a shot — about 25 yards. The croc's head is a very small target at night in the spotlight, so it was a very, very good shot.” After the hunter gave up his trade, he kept a croc called Albert, caught in 1958, in his backyard as a pet.
