After human remains believed to belong to a missing fisherman were found inside a large crocodile that was euthanised by wildlife officers in Far North Queensland, debate is once again raging about whether it is time salties were culled.
Publican Kevin Darmody, 65, was fishing on the banks of the Kennedy River in the Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park last Saturday afternoon when he disappeared off the banks.
The Courier Mail reports that a frantic search was launched to find the well- known local identity, who reportedly ran the Peninsula Hotel, formerly the Quinkan Hotel.
Cooktown resident Bart Harrison told the newspaper that his mate was nearby when Mr Darmody disappeared.
There have been a number of crocodile attacks in recent months. PIC: Angelo_Giordano . Pixabay
“A lad came up on the road shouting ‘he’s gone, he’s gone’ and my mate ran down the bank, and said the water was all stirred up and dirty, you could see something bad happened,” Mr Harrison said. “He was standing right there fishing a few minutes earlier, then he was gone, his thongs were left on the bank.”
Mr Darmody had reportedly lived in the area for a long time and was a keen fisherman who knew the river pretty well.
Mr Harrison told the Courier Mail that there were a lot of big crocs in that particular section of river.
“Tinnies get flipped all the time when people aren’t in the boats, there’s bloody thousands of them, people are fishing and don’t realise there’s a big saltie looking at them from the bottom,” he said. “Close encounters are really common, they’re everywhere this time of year, and they don’t muck around because they are breeding and get territorial.”
Two days after Mr Darmody went missing, Department of Environment and Science wildlife officers caught two large crocs, one measuring a monster 4.1 metres, upstream from where the 65-year-old was last seen, and human remains were recovered.
Crocodiles were classed as a vulnerable species under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 after they had been hunted to near extinction in the 1970s.
However, there are some voices saying it is time for a change in approach. Katter’s Australian Party leader, Robbie Katter, told the Courier Mail that the state government had to look at overhauling its crocodile management program.
“The fact that you can cull dogs, horses and cats but not man-eating crocodiles is the height of environmental madness,” he said. “We don’t want open season, we just want a practical approach … the answer is simple, we need to control the numbers.”
He said the predators were now being seen in swimming holes, waterways and beaches that previously had been safe.
“They’re moving into areas that we have never had them before, and every attack is a strong reminder of the lethal consequences of trying to share waterways,” he told the Courier Mail. “Lake Placid is one example of a waterway we used to enjoy. Innisfail, the Gulf’s rivers all need a thinning out.”
There have been two other crocodile attacks in North Queensland in the last month, although neither was fatal.
A spear fisherman suffered injuries to his arms, head, and leg after being attacked at Archer Point in Cooktown. He escaped after poking the crocodile in the eyes with his fingers.
And a 65-year-old man had a lucky escape after he was bitten on his foot while sleeping on Newell Beach, north of Port Douglas.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
Yes they are getting out of control time to cut their numbers down
Definitely, we lived in Cairns in 1970 & it was reasonable safe to swim in the ocean, no way I would swim in the ocean in NQ now & the crocodiles are inhabiting areas further & further south along the coast, think the inland water ways are more dangerous than the coast.
Dogs, horses and cats are non native Mr Katter. Crocodiles are native and an important part of our biodiversity, just like brown snakes, cassowary and great white sharks. Kevvy would not want the outcome of his death to result in culling crocs. He would be very upset by politicians calling for this in his honour. Instead of killing everything that ” annoys” or is an inconvenience,Kevvy would want the outcome of his death to be education about crocodiles. Kevvy loved crocodiles and nature and educated people accept crocodiles as part of the landscape. Ofcourse they eat us, they are Apex predators. If you don’t want to get eaten, go south.
Absolute rubbish. Humans are the apex predator. Cull them to more reasonable numbers. Allow humans to safely share the environment. Use the culled crocs for meat, handbags, shoes, belts. Create jobs. Win win for everyone.
I’m south already and i don’t want to get eaten by a croc so I will not travel north any more unless it’s safe to do so
Cull all crocodiles south of Cooktown and all over 1.5 metres, but make sure they’re not wasted collect meat and skins.
And then no barramundi duh
Grew up in FNQ and can remember swimming in the ocean at night, many weekends spent enjoying Lake Placid, crocodiles need to be protected but their numbers also need to be kept under control. There will be more and more deaths and injuries if something isn’t done.
Sorry to correct you Dee Kirsey but the crocodile is not an Australian native. Think crocs on the bank of the river Nile and they are also in Thailand as well. Sorry thought the same until doing a croc tour.
You’re wrong there Phil. They are part of our native wildlife and have been here just about for ever. There are 23 crocodile species found in equatorial waters. The Australian saltie is Crocodylus porosus. I DO support a cull however. If recreational hunting were allowed under strict control and professional guidence , including a high-fee permit for each one taken, shooters from here and overseas could be paying for the cull and either using the animal themselves or handing it over for commercial process. That would be a win/win and would cut the cost to the community via rangers or professional hunters having to do it.
Yes, totally agree they are appearing further south down the West coast of WA
You take out the top of the food chain everything else suffers. Like your barramundi fishing do you. Local here.
We had the pleasure of doing a tour of some of the Torres Straight islands. Talking to some of the Aboriginal locals about large crocks swimming over from the mainland they were quite quick to kill them so as not to endanger their children. Common sense really.
Just re locate them in remote area’s.
I believe complacency is also part of the problem. These prehistoric creatures are opportunistic and if a fisherman stands on the same bank for a couple of days then they’re asking for trouble. Educate the humans. I’m not in favour of culling. We can walk in the bush and get bitten by a taipan or tiger snake yet nobody calls for culling snakes. No, we learn to live with them and respect them.
I’d point out that snakes don’t actively seek out humans as prey like crocs do; they bite in self-defence when stepped on or cornered.
Crocodile populations will obviously continue to increase as long as they are protected – and more rapidly. Therefore the number of deaths and injuries to humans will increase. Eventually this will prompt a culling of crocodiles – the question is what is the number of deaths/injuries that is needed for action?
Obviously there’s a middle way between hunting these animals to extinction, or letting them multiply without limits.
Well overdue, should have been attended to years ago but as usual some has to die first.
Yes, definitely they should be culled. They are being bred in farms. Buffalo’s were culled nearly out of existance and they weren’t as dangerous as crocodiles. It will end up people killing them for protection. Kangaroos are culled. and they are our national emblem. It’s a no brainer.
Before the average punter starts trying to have a say on managing our eco systems. They should first manage their expectations on using the wilderness as a playground for fishing and watersports, you want man made safety… go to a man made pool. Crocodiles don’t have the luxury.