Monster crocs arrive in NZ

JOHN SELKIRK/Dominion Post

NEW SURROUNDINGS: One of the crocodiles 'Scar' in his new home at Butterfly Creek.

Monster crocs

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JOHN SELKIRK/Dominion Post Zoom

AUSSIE ATTRACTION: 'Goldie' one of the first live saltwater crocodiles to make the trans-Tasman trip.

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Two Aussie 'monster predators' will now call New Zealand home after being flown here by the air force last night.

Scar, from the Northern Territory, and Goldie, from Cairns, are the first live saltwater crocodiles to make the trans-Tasman trip.

The pair, both 40-years-old and about 500kg, touched down aboard an air force Hercules transport plane at Whenuapai in Auckland at 11.55pm.

After two weeks in quarantine they will be moved to their new home at Butterfly Creek zoo in Manukau as the stars of a new saltwater crocodile exhibit.

"We've had to call on the services of the Royal NZ Air Force to assist with this big move, as these fearless Aussie fighters are of the reptile variety," zoo spokeswoman Jackie Sanders told AAP.

"These feisty beasts will be the largest, most dangerous carnivorous predators in New Zealand."

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles in the world, averaging around four metres in length.

- NZPA