The fall of Libya's Colonel Gaddafi has had an unexpected impact on one Israeli reptile.

As the world waits to find out where the dictator will surface, a crocodile who shares his name looks set to adopt a new moniker.

The sharp-toothed Gaddafi crocodile, three metres long and weighing in at 230 kilograms, was born in 1975 and lives on the Hamat Gader farm in the Golan Heights.

The croc was given the unusual name because it was the year the human Gaddafi published his Green Book, a political manifesto. At the time, he had been in power for six years.

But with the regime collapsing, staff at the farm are concerned that the crocodile Gaddafi could suffer the same fate as another one who was named after Yasir Arafat.

Arafat the crocodile died in 2004, just weeks after the death of the Palestinian leader.

The staff are now considering changing the croc's name to prevent a tragedy, although other politically - associated options, including Berlusconi and Putin, are already taken.