How Woman Kept a Huge Pet Crocodile in Her Back Garden for Nearly Sixty Years

A woman who can be dubbed as fearlessly daring, has managed to keep a fearsome crocodile in her backyard for close to 60 whole years.

 

File photo: A fearsome crocodile like this one lives in Helen's backyard

 

Needless to say, having a fearsome crocodile lurking at the bottom of your garden would be enough to strike terror into most people.

 

However, for one woman, the aquatic reptile living in a pond in her Darwin home is actually one of the family.

 

According to Mirror Online, the woman, Helen Haritos inherited the female crocodile, named Albert, when her father died in 1992.

 

The animal has been living in the garden since 1958 when her father George caught her in the wild and decided to keep her.

 

Helen feeds the fully grown reptile, which measures four metres long and is more than capable of killing an adult, on a diet of fish.

 

She told ABC Australia : "She lets us know when she's hungry. It's not quite like my dog but I do have a particular bond and care for the animal.

"It's quite easy actually (to look after) I'd say low maintenance, but treat with respect because they are very dangerous animals."

 

Albert joined the Haritos when Helen was five when someone asked her crocodile hunter father for a reptile at a party.

 

She says her father caught Albert in the Mary River but when it came time to hand the crocodile over the person had sobered up and no longer wanted it.

 

After an argument, her mother let her father keep it.

 

The saltwater crocodile is now almost 60 years old and has a permit to live in the back garden.