A problem crocodile that ate dogs and threatened passersbys has been removed from a remote town in the Northern Territory.
Police and wildlife rangers removed the almost four-metre long saltwater from its home at Baines River in Bulla yesterday afternoon.
Floods earlier this year had brought the crocodile into the waterway, where it has been notoriously stalking and lunging at children and adults living nearby since.
"The crocodile had also reportedly taken multiple community dogs," police said.
Police said the crocodile was shot following consultations with community members, traditional owners and wildlife officers.
Children were given an opportunistic safety lesson and the animal was taken into the community and prepared for a feast in a traditional manner.
"There's never a dull moment in remote policing," police commander Kylie Anderson said.
In a waste-conscious move, the crocodile was "prepared for a feast in the traditional manner," police said, but not before authorities took the opportunity to give local children an impromptu "crocodile safety session," including an "up-close look at the dangers within our waterways."
Speaking to the ABC, Northern Territory Police Sergeant Andrew McBride said the animal was "cooked up into crocodile tail soup, he was on the barbecue, a few of the pieces were wrapped up in banana leaves and cooked underground."
"It was a rather large traditional feast and there were a few full bellies," Sergeant McBride said.
The Northern Territory contains large and potentially dangerous crocodiles, according to the Department of Environment Rangers, Parks and Water Security.
Locals are urged to be crocwise and only swim where there are designated swimming signs.
In April, a 16-year-old boy was killed by a crocodile in northern Queensland while attempting to swim to shore after his boat broke down. Last year, the remains of a 64-year-old fisherman were recovered from inside a crocodile, also in Queensland.
A nine-year-old boy was lucky to survive a crocodile attack in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park in January, after being hospitalized with "puncture wounds."
