3.5-metre croc spotted in Queensland's south

Updated

Wildlife rangers are trying to catch a large saltwater crocodile lurking in the Mary River near Maryborough in south-east Queensland.

It is rare for crocs to be sighted south of central Queensland.

A commercial fisherman spotted the croc on a mud bank about two kilometres downstream from Beaver Rock boat ramp on Tuesday.

Environment Minister Andrew Powell says it is the first confirmed sighting of a saltwater crocodile in the region.

Wildlife rangers say they are confident of catching the crocodile.

Mr Powell says there have been anecdotal reports of crocodiles in the Great Sandy Straits and the Mary River for years.

"Rangers will be setting a trap this morning so that we can capture this crocodile," he said.

Saltwater crocodiles One of two species in Australia - saltwater and freshwater - but both can live in either fresh or salt water

'Croc country' typically reaches as far south as the Boyne River near Gladstone, 500km north of Brisbane

Crocs mostly live in tidal reaches of rivers but also move in lagoons, rivers, and swamps up to hundreds of kilometres inland

An average male may be 3-4m long and weigh 200-300kg. Females rarely reach over 3.5m and weigh up to 150kg.

More aggressive in breeding season, which runs from September to April Sources: Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Sources: Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency.

He says people should avoid the area until the croc is caught.

"The clear message is keep well away from the water's edge if you are fishing," he said.

"In fact we would probably discourage you from fishing in the vicinity itself - please do not swim in the Mary River.

"I would be encouraging people to stay away - let the experts handle this.

"Let them catch the crocodile - let's get it transferred to a zoo or a farm.

"We want the public to take this seriously and obviously there will be a lot of surprise and certainly a lot of interest in it, but we would be asking all public to very careful around that site."

Crocodile farm owner John Lever says it is not the first time a croc has been spotted in the Mary River.

"There has been croc sightings before in Maryborough," he said.

"Thirty years ago also a poacher had a net off the south tip of Fraser Island - he caught a crocodile in his net, so there is a history of crocodiles sightings in that area."

'Not unexpected'

University of Queensland Zoology Professor Craig Franklin says crocodiles will travel south from time to time.

"It is surprising but it is not unexpected," he said.

"Crocodiles were recorded 100 years ago in the Logan River.

"The Mary River is not a breeding area for crocodiles, so this is an animal that's ventured south - obviously it has been displaced and it is looking for a new territory.

"It's hard to say where this animal has come from but what we do know is they can cover large distances very quickly - 30 kilometres in a day is quite possible for an animal.

"In fact, we have recorded animals that have swum over 400 kilometres in 20 days."

Professor Franklin says this will not be the last crocodile found in southern waters.

"We can't assume this is a one-off event - it is likely to happen again and again as it gets warmer," he said.

"It's likely crocodiles will move further and further south.

"They are quite capable of going into waters that are a lot cooler than you would find up north.

"Possibly in the future they can move beyond Brisbane."

Map: Recent crocodile sightings in Queensland (Green: confirmed, yellow: unconfirmed)

Topics: human-interest, animals, beaver-rock-4650, maryborough-4650, qld

First posted