This message, which is circulating via email, claims that an attached image shows a large crocodile found in a sump at the Victoria Mill, a sugar mill near Ingham, a town in the far north of the Australian state of Queensland.
The claims in the message are true and the photograph is genuine. A March 14 2011 ABC news article about the crocodile explains:
Torrential rain around north Queensland has led to an unwelcome visitor at the Victoria sugar mill near Ingham, north of Townsville.
A three-metre saltwater crocodile was discovered in a pit in the middle of the factory late on Friday afternoon.
A parks and wildlife ranger was called to the mill and the 130-kilogram croc was lifted out with the help of a noose.
An ABC Rural report about the unexpected visitor notes that the crocodile was being taken to a zoo.
It is currently unclear who snapped the above photograph. Another photograph of the animal, taken after its rescue, can be viewed in the ABC Rural report.
Example
Subject: Croc in Victoria Mill sump
Croc in Victoria Mill sump 100 K North of Townsville , Work place Hazard !!!!!!!!!!!!
Their is a 9 foot crock in the middle of the mill. Stuck down a pit.
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
