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American influencer Mike Holston has shared another video of himself grabbing a juvenile crocodile in Australia, after Queensland authorities said it would investigate an initial video of him catching a freshwater crocodile.
Holston, who shares content under the username therealtarzann, faced backlash following the release of a video in which he runs after a juvenile crocodile in the Lockhart River area of Far North Queensland, eventually capturing it in shallow waters.
Holston is then seen gagging the two-metre crocodile, saying it was a “what dreams are made of” to hold one, while blood dripped down his body from an apparent bite.
“This thing is sick,” he says in the video.
“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to come to Australia and just look at crocodiles … get my hands on them, see them up close.
“There’s other crocs in here and it could get pretty ugly. I’ve got to get out of here fast.”
The Queensland Department of Environment confirmed it was investigating Holston.
Later, Holston uploaded another video, showing him disembarking from a boat and plunging into wetlands to capture another crocodile, this one a somewhat bigger saltwater type. The video was also marked as being at the Lockhart River location.
A spokesperson for the Department told the ABC it was a “significant offence to interfere with freshwater crocodiles in Queensland, not to mention extremely dangerous”.
The Department of Environment website states a fine of more than $2,500 can be imposed on someone caught interfering with a crocodile, administered on the spot.
Anyone found to be feeding or deliberately disturbing crocodiles in Queensland could be fined more than $26,000.
Holston has more than 15 million followers on Instagram and his crocodile videos have millions of views.
SBS News has contacted Holston for comment.
Earlier this year, another American influencer, Sam Jones, left the country after facing condemnation for sharing a now-deleted video of her briefly taking a baby wombat from its mother.
