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Crocodiles, the world's largest reptiles, are fascinating, awesome and terrifying. Large carnivorous animals occur in
Australia, except the saltwater, or estuarine, crocodile, Crocodylus porosus. In the heyday of crocodile hunting, in the early
1950s when skin prices were high, some huge saltwater crocs were shot. In 1929, Claude Le Roy used a
six-inch noble lure (gelignite) to blow up a 7.7-metre (25ft) crocodile in
a hole just below the Hartley’s Creek crocodile farm north from Cairns,
while George Snow shot a 6.8-metre (22ft) croc in the Albert River near
Burketown in 1948. Peter Cole bagged the
Wyaaba Monster in the Staaten River in the mid-fifties, and that
creature measured 7.5 metres (24’6”).
Crocodiles ranging from 4.5 to six
metres were the rule, rather than the exception, in those halcyon days of
professional crocodile hunting. The reason such monsters were about was that no
one had bothered too shoot them before commercial hunting began. Big crocs over six metres are
rarely seen today, but one that exceeds eight metres lives in the Goyder River
swamps of northern Arnhem Land. Individuals around the 4.5 to six metre range
are not uncommon, and I have photographed such crocs in the East and South
Alligator rivers of the Kakadu National Park and in some of the remote Arnhem
Land and Cape York rivers and billabongs. The only other Australian crocodile
is the Johnston, or freshwater crocodile, Crocodylus johnstoni. It can reach a length of up to 3.6 metres, but
no attack on humans has been recorded unless the reptile was cornered. Normally
a fish eater, it will take birds, dogs and small wallabies, but bush people and
Aborigines warn that small babies should not be left unattended near waterholes
where freshies live. The saltwater crocodile is misnamed as it has been recorded up to 300km or more inland in fresh water, and most reptiles are probably born in the upper freshwater reaches of large rivers and never leave them. This is something to remember when
travelling in the tropics.
Attacks on humans are rare, though
it does attract media hype. Only about 16 people have been killed by crocodiles
since they became protected in 1974, and there have been about seven non-fatal
attacks. These people were lucky: once those crushing jaws lock onto prey the
croc commences the death-roll, rolling over and over and slamming the victim up
and down. Crocodiles are opportunist hunters
and even when not hungry they will kill prey if it does not involve too much
activity. Humans are slow, very stupid and easy to kill, so if one just happens
to swim past the temptation is too much for the saurian and it may attack. Most attacks occur during the
breeding season between October to May, and some people wandering too close have
been attacked by female crocs guarding their nests. Attacks on land are rare
and, except in two documented cases, all attacks have occurred in water where
people should not have been. Crocodiles do not hunt on land thus
it is safe to fish and walk along crocodile-inhabited pools. But do stay away
from deep edges as a crocodile can leap from the water its body length except
for the section from the back legs down. When camping, do so well away from
the water’s edge, and vary your path to the water so you don’t start a
(crocodile) recognisable pattern. When fishing, remove all fish and baits from
the boat as hungry crocs have been known to crawl into boats and turn them over
to get to the enticing smell of dead fish and bait. An amusing event occurred at Prince
Charlotte Bay, north of Cooktown, sometime ago when a prawn-spotting float plane
was forced to land close to an estuary. The two men on board were taken off
by a trawler and spent the night on it. During the night there was a lot of
splashing near the plane that woke everyone up, and a spotlight showed a huge
crocodile climbing onto one of the plane floats. The onlookers later swore on a
stack of bibles that the croc was trying to mate with the float, and it caused
the plane to flip over with only the floats left above the water. The croc was back at daylight,
attempting again to make love to the floats. The sight of your first crocodile
in the wild is something you will never forget as a big one is majestic, and
just oozes out power and strength; some people say evil. They have an uncanny
ability to remain on the water’s surface without moving, and sink below it
without leaving a ripple, but can accelerate to an amazing speed in the blink of
an eye. Canoes have been attacked, and
people in them savaged and eaten. I used to do a lot of canoeing till I got
bumped twice by crocs coming up underneath the canoe, perhaps thinking that the
shape gliding over them was a territorial intrusion by another crocodile. I
think that is why there have been several clashes with crocs and canoes;
dinghies appear to be safer but, as the following shows, not always.
We caught some nice barramundi and had lunch in the shade of the escarpment, and waited for the tide to rise so we could head back to the boat ramp 40km upstream. Craige fell asleep leaning up
against the bow rail while I leaned against the motor just resting my eyes. I
must have been asleep for a few minutes because I woke with a start as the hair
in the back of my neck was on edge. Without hesitation I threw myself
forward into the center of the boat. Craige had woken at the same time as I did,
his eyes the size of saucers. “Jeeze mate, that mongrel missed
you by this much,” he said with a shaky voice. Only a metre behind the
outboard lay 3.6 metres of hungry crocodile, a female who was nesting in this
area and still does today. We had seen her several times in
the morning when we were fishing, but she showed no interest and kept well away
from us. Once we relaxed our vigil she had come up and tried for me. Only a
fraction of a second was between me and death by the living nightmare of the
tropics, because when she came up she hit the motor and the back of the boat. A mate of ours, Kerry McLaughlin,
was not so lucky when he was taken by a 4.8-metre male croc on Cahill’s
Crossing a month earlier. The incident was a sobering experience for both of us. But it does show how cunning a
crocodile really is, because when we were active and alert she did not bother
us, yet once our guard was down she came in. We will never know if she was after
the two barra we had kept, or after me, but it was me she had targeted. Crocodiles are a fact of life in
the tropics and they must be treated with caution and respect. But by taking
reasonable care anyone can enjoy this wonderful region. The big killer in the tropics from
October onwards till June is the box jellyfish. It has killed more people than
the total combined attacks by shark, crocodiles, snakes, spiders and blue
octopus, and this during a time when crocodiles are most active. The message, when outdoors
anywhere, is to beware of some of nature’s not-so-nice subjects that can kill
you. Some, like mosquitoes, are hardly visible – and they are the biggest
killer of the lot.
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