As grey nomads begin plotting their treks northwards, the sighting of a saltie at a popular Darwin beach has served as a timely reminder of the need to be constantly croc-aware.
The two-metre long crocodile was spotted swimming in the shallows of Casuarina Beach late last week.
Local resident Jill Huck took some pictures of the giant reptile surfing the waves and posted them to the NT Field Naturalists’ Club Facebook page.
The NT News reports that rangers were called to the beach, near the Dripstone Cliffs, but with the tide going out, they were unable to capture the reptile.
A Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman said while the saltie wasn’t large, it was certainly big enough to take a dog.
She urged people to always be CrocWise, to not swim in the ocean or enter waterways like Rapid Creek to fish or cool off.
Also last week, a man was bitten by a crocodile while he was spearfishing in the NT’s East Arnhem region. Police say the man is lucky to be alive but suffered serious wounds to his arm and leg.
And last month, a fisherman had the fright of his life when a five-metre croc attacked his 4.2m tinny on the Cato River in East Arnhem Land. Jason Charles said the giant croc attacked the boat’s motor, and threatened to overturn his vessel by launching itself aboard. He eventually got away unhurt.
Authorities say that, last year, a total of 308 saltwater crocodiles were captured in the Top End.
Sooooo wary. They terrify me!
I spent three weeks on the Mary River. There were almost as many crocs as there were flies
I won’t even put my foot in the water and save my cooling off for the pool when up north; just as I stayed in the vehicle when in the Serengeti. Much as I like to look at awsome apex predators, I’m not planning to be on the menu.