American influencer Mike Holston—known online as “The Real Tarzann” online—has sparked outrage after posting a video of himself getting bitten by a crocodile in Queensland, Australia. The viral video, which racked up over 800,000 views within a day, shows Holston chasing and wrestling a freshwater crocodile in what he calls “croc territory.” The clip then shows blood gushing from the influencer’s arm as he holds the crocodile. “He got a good piece of my arm,” Holston says, showing off the injury. The Community Representation of Crocodiles released a statement deeming Holston’s behavior reckless and illegal. “We’ve had many people reach out about this video. It has been reported to the Queensland Government many times,” the statement says. The Nature Conservation Act 1992 lists freshwater crocodiles as a vulnerable species, and it is an offense to take or kill crocodiles in the northeastern Australian state. “In a depraved attempt to boost his platform, Holston uses animals as props for content, regularly provoking them and engaging them in reckless, hazardous stunts,” wrote People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in a 2024 article responding to what it described as an “unlicensed roadside zoo” operated by Holston in Temecula, California. “Since I was a kid, I wanted to come to Australia,” Holston proclaims in the viral crocodile video. Earlier this year, another American influencer, Sam Jones, faced calls for deportation from Australia after she posted a video of herself stealing a baby wombat from its mother.
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