CANBERRA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- A monster saltwater crocodile has been caught near a popular swimming hole in a rural area of Darwin in northern Australia.

    The Northern Territory News reported on Friday it took five rangers to pull the 4.7 meter beast from a permanent trap at Berry Springs - about 1 km downstream from the main waterhole.

    Crocodile catcher Tom Nichols said it was the biggest reptile rangers had caught in a trap this year.

    "This is the largest crocodile we've removed from the area in the last four years and is also the largest crocodile we've removed from any of our traps in 2009," he said.

    The male crocodile had to be drugged before rangers removed him in just over an hour.

    "He performed quite well actually for his size," Nichols said.

    The crocodile was taken on the back of a trailer to the Darwin crocodile farm.