DARWIN, Australia – Australian authorities are searching for four men who released saltwater crocodiles into a Northern Territory college on Sunday.

Surveillance video footage of the incident shows three crocodiles coming through an opening in the administrative offices of Taminmin College in Humpty Doo around 5 a.m., before three men with their shirts covering their faces follow behind them and trash the place, the local ABC radio station reports.

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The largest of the animals was about six foot long, and all three were in poor condition when police arrived Monday with animal control officers to recover them.

“The ranger that turned up was very concerned for them – they had their mouths taped up,” senor constable David Gregory told the news site. “They hadn’t seen water for a long time and are undernourished.”

Ranger Luke McLaren told the Telegraph he believes the reptiles came from a crocodile farm, but is not sure exactly which one. Saltwater crocodiles are a protected species in Australia and those who handle them can be fined up to about $59,000 and jailed for up to five years.

McLaren said the crocodiles released at Taminmin College were “basically skin and bones, not much meat left on them.

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“They were quiet and really easy to catch,” he said. “Really poor skin condition, like they haven’t been kept in water for quite a while, haven’t been fed, and one of them looked to be blind (as a result of neglect.)”

BBC News reports officials are unsure why the vandals released the animals in the school, but are searching for the intruders for possible animal cruelty charges.

McLaren told The Guardian the crocodiles were in such bad health they will probably have to be euthanized.

“We’ll determine what farm they’re from and we’ll try to take them back to that farm, but looking at their condition it’s likely they’ll have to be destroyed,” he said.

The Queensland Times points out that the Animal Welfare Act also imposes a cruelty to animals penalty in the Northern Territory of up to a year in jail and about a $10,000 fine per person.