THE boy made his way past Billygoat Hill, ignoring the groups of itinerant drinkers and drug addicts waking up after a night sleeping rough on the parched land beside one of Australia's most popular Outback zoos.
But instead of heading for school, the seven-year-old deftly jumped a security fence at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre, before calmly going on a 30-minute killing spree, throwing live animals to a crocodile and using a rock to bludgeon several liz
ards to death.
Among the 13 dead reptiles was the zoo's beloved 20-year-old goanna, a monitor lizard, which the boy fed to "Terry", an 11ft long, 440lb saltwater crocodile.
Last night, the zoo's director said he was considering suing the parents because the child is too young to be prosecuted.
The boy's escapade began at about 8am on Wednesday and was captured by CCTV cameras.
At one point the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is seen climbing over the outer fence to get closer to the giant reptile.
In the footage, the boy's face remains mostly blank, but in other shots he is spotted smiling as he goes about his business.
Rex Neindorf, the zoo's director, said all the keepers had been deeply saddened by the animals' death.
He said: "The fact a seven-year-old can wreak so much havoc in such a short time, it's unbelievable. In my day he'd get a big boot up the a***.
"It was like he was playing a game. We're horrified that anyone can do this, and saddened by the age of the child."
Alice Springs police said they had identified the boy, who lives locally, and had spoken to him and his mother but were unable to press charges because of his age. Children under ten are not criminally liable under the law of the Northern Territory.
Mr Neindorf said: "If we can't put the blame on to the child, then someone has to accept the responsibility.
"We'll be looking at suing the parents, who were supposedly in control of him at the time.
"I just want people to learn that they can't let their children go and run amok."
The live reptiles that became an early breakfast for the crocodile were a turtle, four western blue tongue lizards, two bearded dragons, two thorny devils and the adult goanna – in total, they were worth about £3,000.
Those smashed to death were a small blue tongue lizard and two thorny devils.
The zoo's security system, which relies on sensors, probably did not detect the boy because he is so small, Mr Neindorf said.
The Centralian Advocate, an Alice Springs daily newspaper, ran the headline "Killer Brat" on its coverage of the story.
However, Phillip Hodson, a fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, said it was wrong to vilify a child.
"Such a headline would be justified for a 21-year-old. But at only seven, this child is at the stage we describe as "before reason", he said. "Obviously, it is offensive when animals are gratuitously killed. But the world of childhood and children is severely distorted and we should be more tolerant because such a young child can't look at things objectively.
"Children can be quite cruel, which is why we have to bring them up. You only have to read Lord of the Flies to see how badly things can go."
Mike Flynn, the chief superintendent of the Scottish SPCA, said: "While we can't comment on this specific incident, research clearly demonstrates that children who hurt animals are at an increased risk of being violent towards humans later in life.
"There is also an increased risk of domestic abuse in a household in which an animal has been deliberately harmed.
"It is essential that these links are recognised across all government agencies."
