Sweetheart was the name given to a 5.1 m (17 ft) male saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) which Northern Territory folk legend claims was responsible for a series of attacks on boats in Australia in the 1970s.
History
Sweetheart first rose to prominence around 1974 and was dubbed by locals as the "heavyweight champion" of Sweets Billabong - where he gets his name - in the Northern Territory's Finniss River, south west of Darwin.[1] He frequently attacked outboard motors, dinghies, and fishing boats, but there is no known case of his attacking humans.[2] In July 1979, Sweetheart was finally caught alive by a team from the Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission due to fears for human safety, but died while being transported when he became tangled with a log.[3] The cause of death was later attributed to a slow drowning, probably due to being tranquilised with the sedative Flaxedil.[4]
^Stringer, Col (1986). The Saga of Sweetheart: The frightening but true story of the Giant Rogue Crocodile who attacked over 15 boats on a N.T. River during the 1970s. Casuarina, N.T.: Adventure Publications. ISBN0959089632.