Crocosaurus Cove Cage of Death icon Axel shocks the world when naughty ‘croc d***’ photo of the deceased reptile goes viral

A young girl’s rare photo of a famous crocodile showing his genitals has resurfaced and has shocked the internet.

Axel the crocodile had a reputation for exposing himself to tourists visiting Crocosaurus Cove’s Cage of Death in Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Former photographer Mon Atkins shared a cheeky photo of the now-deceased crocodile taken by a young tourist several years ago after encountering it in her camera.

“Sorry if it’s a little crude, but it’s nature, and to be honest not many people have been lucky enough to see it,” Ms Atkins wrote online.

The 900kg, 5.1m crocodile named Axel (pictured) was known to expose himself to tourists

Ms Atkins said Axel had exposed herself to a young girl who had been swimming with her mother in the aquarium a few years ago.

“I took pictures of Axel with the camera and things like that… and we came back and (the girl’s mom) looked at the packages after she made the Cage of Death,” said the former Crocosaurus Cove photographer told NT News.

“She said, ‘My daughter has this picture and I don’t want it, but you have it, you might need it,’ and I’m off, ‘holy s**t.’

“He did it at the most inappropriate time and usually when a group of kids or a tour group comes in.”

The young girl wasn’t the only one who saw more than they had hoped.

Aiden Goode jumped on Crocosaurus Cove’s main attraction in 2018, but it wasn’t until he looked back at the photos that he realized Axel had gotten excited.

“I thought it was a cracker and it was hilarious,” he said.

“It was great to get up close and personal[with the crocodile],” he said.

After purchasing the photos, Mr. Goode returned to Axel’s tank.

“We went under it in the tunnel to look, but it looked like he had it tucked away.”

Baffled users in the I like crocodiles The Facebook group took it all in and shared their impressions in the comments.

“I don’t know what I thought they would look like, but I certainly didn’t imagine this,” one member wrote.

“Someone told me this is Photoshop,” added a second.

“Cock-o-dile Dundee,” agreed a third.

Other shocked viewers question Mrs. Atkins’ pride in sharing Axel’s glory.

“What did you mean ‘not many people have been lucky enough to see it’,” someone asked.

“Strange introduction to the group, but hey, I have to keep loving crocodiles,” said another.

Axel reaches 90 before sadly dying of old age almost two years ago.

Crocs getting horny outside of mating season is unnatural, the park’s founder told NT News, admitting he didn’t know what Alex was doing while he was hanging out.

Aptly named “Big Boy,” the 2,000-pound, 18-foot (5.1-meter) saltwater predator swam alongside tourists in the Cage of Death for years.

According to the Territory’s leading crocodile expert Grahame Webb, it was an unnatural occurrence for Axel to get horny outside of mating season

Mr. Webb opened Crocodylus Park in 1994, where Axel was one of the site’s main attractions.

According to Mr. Webb, Alex’s display of his crown jewels was one of the first steps between crocodiles during courtship.

“It’s usually well and truly inside…it only comes out during mating, so I don’t know what he’s doing when he’s hanging out,” he told NT News.

Unfortunately, Alex passed away on October 22, 2021, after turning 90 years old