Rare pale-headed crocodile kills man in Australia

A man has died after being attacked by a pale-headed saltwater crocodile nicknamed "Michael Jackson" in Australia's Northern Territory.

The 57-year-old man was fishing with his wife on the bank of the Adelaide River Monday when his line apparently became snagged, Northern Territory Police said.

"It appears he has entered the water and tragically was taken by a crocodile while retrieving fishing equipment," they said in a statement on Facebook.

Parks and Wildlife Rangers and members of the Water Police Section subsequently shot and killed the 4.5 meter (14.7 foot) crocodile, they said. The man's body was found nearby.

The incident is believed to have occurred about 5.30 p.m. local time Monday (4 a.m ET, 8 a.m. GMT), police said.

Peter Saltmarsh, from Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise, told CNN it was the first time in his 20 years working as a guide on the river that such an incident had occurred.

"There are plenty of crocodiles up here and we don't have many problems as a rule. There are lots of signs, there are lots of cruises, there are lots of warnings and there's lots of knowledge," he said.

Five companies operate crocodile cruises in the area with the giant reptiles distributed about one every 100 meters along the river, on the banks of which they could sometimes be spotted, Saltmarsh said.

"They normally eat fish and kangaroos and other things -- they're not after us. They're very timid and elusive animals, they're very lazy and very rarely seen." He said crocodiles could stay underwater for up to four hours.

"Michael Jackson" was recognizable for its pale head and had been known to loca

ls for about 10 years, Saltmarsh said.

The late pop singer Michael Jackson had suffered from the skin condition vitiligo, which caused parts of his skin to lighten.

Saltmarsh said it was unfortunate that the victim had apparently entered water inhabited by big crocodiles at dusk to retrieve his lure.

"The crocodile could have thought he was any sort of an animal. It's just really, really unfortunate. This person's made a tragic error of judgment."

Recognizable crocodile

Dr. Adam Britton has been researching crocodiles in the Northern Territory for about 18 years and was familiar with "Michael Jackson."

"What made that particular animal special was that it had a very light colored head, so it was very recognizable," he said. "It was missing part of its tail, two limbs and had a big scar on its belly.

"He was an old, beaten up, battle-scarred crocodile that everyone knew," Britton said.