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Queensland’s environment department has expanded an investigation into an American influencer who posted videos of himself wrangling crocodiles in the state’s north.
Mike Holston, who goes by the handle @therealtarzann online, posted two videos on Friday and Sunday showing himself pouncing on the allegedly wild animals in the Lockhart River region, in Far North Queensland.
In the first video Holston can be seen jumping off a boat into the water top chase down and tackle a freshwater crocodile, suffering a bite wound on his arm in the process.
American influencer Mike Holston handling a juvenile saltwater crocodile in Far North Queensland.Credit: therealtarzann
“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to come to Australia and just look at crocodiles,” Holston said in the video.
The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation launched an investigation after the first video was posted.
Holston with a freshwater crocodile in Far North Queensland, in a video uploaded on Friday.Credit: therealtarzann
“It is a significant offence to interfere with freshwater crocodiles in Queensland, not to mention extremely dangerous,” a department spokesperson said.
The department has since added into its investigation a second video posted overnight on Saturday, within which Holston appears to catch a juvenile saltwater crocodile.
In the footage the influencer jumps from a boat travelling through swamp land onto a small embankment, and wrestles the animal into submission.
“Big croc – well, technically it’s small, they get much bigger than this… this is a juvenile,” Holston can be heard saying in the video, holding up the crocodile.
“This thing is sick.”
Holston then handled the animal for a short period, before throwing it into the water and letting it swim away.
“I’m going to let this guy go... there’s bigger crocs in here so we’ve got to get out of here fast because it can get pretty ugly pretty quick, for both of us,” he said.
Returning to the boat, he remarked, “that was crazy”.
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Queensland updated its penalties for disturbing or interacting with crocodiles in September last year, and deliberately disturbing an animal can attract an on-the-spot fine of $2670.
Following court proceedings, penalties for interacting with crocodiles can cost more than $27,000.
The state also introduced penalties last year for being near crocodiles, meaning people found within 10 meters of a crocodile that is either on, or partially on, land – such as an animal basking in the sun – who do not have a “reasonable excuse” for being there can be fined up to $16,690.
While the footage was released across the weekend, Holston documented behind-the-scenes footage of himself in Queensland in mid-August, and the exact time the video was recorded is not known.
Videos and images posted earlier this year of Holston’s Australia trip.
Holston is a global brand ambassador for Nordstrom, living in the US. He is known for close wildlife encounters across the world, and studied Biology at Gainesville State College.
Holston was contacted for comment.
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