Crocodiles cannot outnumber people in area where girl was killed, leader says

The girl died after being taken by a crocodile in the Northern Territory’s Palumpa area (AuBC via AP)

Crocodile numbers in Australia’s Northern Territory must be either maintained or reduced and cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population, the territory’s leader said, after a 12-year-old girl was killed while swimming.

The crocodile population has exploded across Australia’s tropical north since it became a protected species under Australian law in the 1970s, growing from 3,000 when hunting was outlawed to 100,000 now. The Northern Territory has just over 250,000 people.