Saltwater crocs headed to New Zealand

Two saltwater crocodiles will be flown across the Tasman this weekend to their new home in Auckland. Photo / Getty Images

DARWIN - New Zealanders will mark this Anzac Day with the arrival of two iconic Aussies so dangerous the armed forces will be on hand for the trip.

For the first time ever, saltwater crocodiles will be taken across the Tasman where they will call home a heated billabong at Butterfly Creek zoo in Manukau.

Scar, from the Northern Territory, and Goldie, from Cairns, are both a whopping five metres.

They will be loaded onto a New Zealand Air Force Hercules on Sunday morning.

"We've had to call on the services of the Royal NZ Air Force to assist with this big move, as these fearless Aussie fighters are of the reptile variety," said zoo spokeswoman Jackie Sanders.

Ms Sanders said the monster predators, both male, weighed over half a tonne each.

"These feisty beasts will be the largest, most dangerous carnivorous predators in New Zealand," she said.

They will be the star attractions of a new saltwater crocodile exhibit, sponsored by Tourism Northern Territory. It will also feature several baby American alligators.

Ms Sanders said that in the wild, Scar and Goldie would most likely have called a coastal region in northern Australia home, although they can venture 100km or more inland.

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles in the world, averaging around four metres in length.

"Male salties are fiercely territorial, so our boys will have to be kept apart in their new home, a billabong-themed area with heated pools," Ms Sanders said.

"The purpose-built exhibit will give visitors an incredible close-up experience."

The relocation comes days after the NT government announced plans to allow trophy hunters to pay to shoot salties in the wild.

Three recent croc attacks, two of which were fatal, prompted immediate calls for a mass slaughter of the reptiles - almost 40 years after the saltwater species was first listed for protection.

The Northern Territory is now estimated to have the largest population in Australia at more than 80,000.

"We hope to give people a better understanding of this ancient species which was almost wiped out in Australia by hunting and poaching," Ms Sanders said.

"They were given full protection in the late 60s, early 70s and wild populations have since staged a remarkable recovery. Today they are no longer endangered but remain a protected species."

Scar and Goldie will arrive in Auckland on April 19.

"(We're) eagerly awaiting the arrival of two very special Australians, just in time for Anzac Day," Ms Sanders said.

But Scar and Goldie will be given time to settle into their new home and will not be on show until May.

- AAP