U.S. influencer under investigation in Australia over controversial crocodile videos

Australian authorities said Thursday that they were investigating videos posted online by a U.S. influencer that show him capturing and restraining wild crocodiles in the state of Queensland.

Australian authorities said Thursday that they were investigating videos posted online by a U.S. influencer that show him capturing and restraining wild crocodiles in the state of Queensland.

“These actions are extremely dangerous and illegal, and we are actively exploring strong compliance action including fines to deter any person from this type of behavior,” the Queensland environment department said in a statement.

Mike Holston, also known as The Real Tarzann, posted two videos in recent days to his 15 million followers on Instagram, including one in which he appears to wrestle a crocodile and ends up on top.

In the first video, Holston enters shallow water from a boat and runs toward what he says is a freshwater crocodile before jumping on it and wrestling with it. Blood is visible on his left arm as he grabs the neck of the crocodile, which can be heard calling out.

“This is what dreams are made of,” Holston says in the video while holding the reptile, admitting that he has wanted to come to Australia since a young age to see crocodiles up close.