Saltwater crocodiles Scar, from the Northern Territory, and Goldie, from Cairns, were airborne on their way to a new life at Butterfly Creek Zoo, in Auckland, when they broke their head restraints in flight, zoo general manager John Dowsett said.
"It was a bit fraught ... two of them broke their head-ropes and began thrashing around.
"The actual plane was shaking. The pilot was turning and raising his eyebrows.
"We gave them a muscle relaxant to calm it down. But they're big animals. When they do move, there's an impact. There's a lot of power there."
The crocodiles were eventually calmed, and the flight touched down at Whenuapai Air Base about midnight on Tuesday.
An air force flight was used to fly the crocodiles over the Tasman as it was the only one with enough room and the Hercules just happened to be returning to New Zealand from Asia, via Darwin.
Butterfly Creek was not charged for the transportation, but Mr Dowsett hoped to host air force staff for a meal to thank them for their help.
Scar and Goldie will spend two weeks in quarantine at Butterfly Creek before beginning new roles as the stars of a saltwater crocodile exhibit.
And keepers will have to be careful to keep the pair apart, because the creatures feel the same about each other as they do about head restraints.
"We have two crocodile exhibits side by side, but we can't let them be together because they'll kill each other," Mr Dowsett said.
"You go out in the wild and the bigger crocodiles, most of them have legs missing or ripped eyes ... They're very aggressive."
Scar and Goldie were selected from hundreds of crocodiles because of their good health, and relatively stable personalities.
"They can't be pulled straight out of the wild.
They've got to be a confident animal without being overly aggressive.
Otherwise they'll spend the whole day charging the fence.
Not all the crocs are the same - some are absolutely crazy."
Transporting the crocodiles from Whenuapai to Butterfly Creek was a logistical strain, taking more than five hours.
The pair were carried in crates made from 25mm plywood and 4x2 timber bolted and screwed together.
"It was a bit of a mission to get them in.
They had to be moved with a truck crane on to another crane, on to a trailer, up a ramp, across some scaffold through another exhibit, and into their homes, Mr Dowsett said.
Eight carers travelled with the crocodiles.
"Getting them out the boxes can be a bit hairy.
We pull them out with a top jaw-rope, jump on them while we undo the tape, and get off at the same time.
You just hope they don't spin around."
The crocodiles were expected to be ready for public viewing in three to four weeks, after they had acclimatised to their new home and feeding patterns. - The New Zealand Herald
