Dozens of reptiles, including a crocodile, stolen from an Australian animal education center established to continue the work of wildlife crusader Steve Irwin were recovered on Monday, police said.
Police said they found the reptiles stuffed in boxes in a car which had stopped at a busy intersection in Melbourne and were questioning a 21-year-old man found slumped behind the wheel.
The robbery on Sunday from the Wildlife Wonderland near Melbourne, included a 2-foot-long freshwater crocodile, two pythons, three bearded dragons and the center's entire stock of 47 blue-tongue lizards.
"The thieves have targeted specific reptiles, they knew exactly what they were looking for," Victoria police senior detective Mick Harvey said.
The center was opened days after Steve Irwin, known worldwide by his television show moniker, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed by a stingray barb while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef on Sept. 4 last year.
A snake and a number of lizards were still missing, according to Harvey, who speculated that the reptiles were to be sold overseas on the black market or to a private collector.
