Crocodile Burt casts his vote in Australian election

Snappy star of Crocodile Dundee predicts who will be the new Australian PM

A mature saltwater crocodile (and Burt lookalike) in the Adelaide River, near Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. Greg Wood / Agence France-Presse

SYDNEY // His brain may be only the size of a walnut but Burt the saltwater crocodile knows his own mind. And after careful consideration, he has decided that Australia’s next prime minister will be the incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull.

Images of the two candidates — Mr Turnbull and opposition leader Bill Shorten — each with a chunk of fish attached, were suspended over a pool where Burt was taking a swim. Burt examined both for several minutes before making his choice and snapping up the fish — and Mr Turnbull’s picture.

“He tends to have a think about these decisions,” James Robinson of Crocosaurus Cove in the northern city of Darwin, where Burt lives. “It took him about six minutes to pick his winner, taking a couple of snaps at each one beforehand, before actually deciding that, ‘yup, I’m gonna pull down Malcolm Turnbull’s picture’.”

Burt, who measures an impressive five metres in length and weighs 700 kilos, was a film star in his youth, appearing the worldwide hit movie Crocodile Dundee. He also had an active love life but relationships with three serious girlfriends did not work out- Burt ate them. Now aged more than 80, he is a confirmed bachelor and wise old reptile following in a well-established tradition of clairvoyant crocs. In 2013, Big Wendell correctly predicted Tony Abbot would win the election and Harry was also right when he picked Julia Gillard for prime minister in 2010.

Burt is not the only non-human creature with seemingly predictive powers. In Germany, Paul the Octopus won fame when he successfully predicted the outcome of eight consecutive football matches in the 2010 World Cup.

The Australian election on Saturday is tipped to be a close race between Mr Turbull and Mr Shorten. On Thursday, Mr Turnbull urged voters in the Northern Territory to “side with Burt.”

His opponent snapped back, saying “My team are running an excellent campaign. Burt should be paying more attention.”

* Agence France-Presse