As grey nomads begin to head north in big numbers, Parks and Wildlife rangers have caught the first saltwater crocodile in the Northern Territory’s Katherine River for 2015.
The ABC reports that a 3.5 metre male crocodile was found in a trap behind Novis Quarry, downstream of the low-level Katherine River crossing, a popular recreation area.
Wildlife operations ranger with Parks and Wildlife, Chris Heydon said the trap in which the crocodile was caught had only recently been installed.
“We only just put our traps in last week and are only just rebaiting,” Mr Heydon told the ABC. “We’ve got a number of crocodile management zones and he was caught in zone one, which is the main zone, close to people.”
The captured crocodile will now be taken to the Coolibah Crocodile Farm.
Mr Heydon said the crocodile was of a size that could be dangerous to people.
“This size crocodile could easily take a human, no problem at all,” he said. “That’s why we’re trying to get through to people to be crocwise … if there’s not a sign saying you can swim, don’t go in the water.”
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