If crocodiles were drawn to the smell of sweat, Roger Matthews would be in serious trouble.

He is saturated, moving with caution deep in crocodile country.

Cicadas are humming and bursts of early wet season rain have made the surroundings vibrant with greenery.

But within this lush pastoral landscape east of Darwin lurks a formidable killer.

Mr Matthews has been warned of a problem crocodile snatching cattle. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

Taking on problem crocs

The Northern Territory Government is responsible for the surveillance and capture of problem crocodiles — those near swimming holes, settled or pastoral areas.

It removed 360 salties during 2018, the majority of them from Darwin Harbour.

Further afield, however, cattle station managers who find their profits being literally eaten away may enlist Mr Matthews' services.

He is one of the few freelance hunters licensed to capture crocs outside the Government's management zone, and his work has taken him to mines, stations and research sites as far away as the Kimberley.

On this job, he's at a pastoral station bordered by a national park; crocodiles inside the park boundary can't be harmed, but when they cross onto a billabong and enter the station, they are fair game.

Ringers have recently spotted a large crocodile on the wrong side of the border.

The crocodile hunter is licensed to remove about 20 problem crocodiles from this station each year. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

Inside the park, Mr Matthews is quick to notice a track of flattened mud: the trail is moist on top — a tell-tale sign for the experienced hunter.

"I'd look at this and be thinking there's up to four metres of crocodile," he said.

It is breeding season and the searing heat makes the beasts more active.

Mr Matthews has his pistol drawn.

"You can see where it's climbed up the bank, climbed up onto that dam wall and then into the other dam over there," he explained.

"It's certainly gone up and not back."

Bill Dean was an early Top End crocodile hunter. ( Supplied: Crocodile Hunt )

Not the Dundee stereotype

The stereotype of a lone crocodile hunter — Crocodile Dundee armed with knives, bare hands and machismo — may be an enduring one in popular culture.

But Mr Matthews has 30 years of experience under his belt, which, incidentally, is not lined with crocodile teeth.

The modern croc hunter is pragmatic, methodical and a family man: his teenage son sometimes joins him on assignments.

Though it might seem high-risk work, his attitude is pragmatic — it's his job and he is well prepared.

Ropes, hessian bags, knives, first aid kit, and gaffer tape to hold mouths shut are all packed in what he calls his catch bag, each with a specific purpose.

An esky of cold drinks will help him withstand the mid-30s temperatures and oppressive humidity.

The men brush up on their aim before taking to the billabong. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

"If I'm checking the traps and doing something around the traps, I'll take a pistol," he said.

"I just keep that for close-quarter combat, and this for anything that looks like causing trouble," he added, picking up a .223-calibre rifle.

His mum told him it was dangerous when he first set out to do this work.

Various weapons, necessities and a first aid kit make their way into Mr Matthews' catch bag. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

"There is danger, but there's also a set of procedures that if you follow, you'll generally be pretty good," he said.

"Obviously you're not going to drink a carton of beer and go out and do it — that's just silly.

"It looks a bit scary sometimes, but it's a procedural thing we follow to the letter. Hence we're all complete."

Pistol drawn, Mr Matthews inspects evidence of a freshly made crocodile trail. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

The waiting game

There will be no bare-chested crocodile wrestling today, just the routine work that goes into eventually catching his target.

The bait recently laid in the trap is missing — perhaps rotted away, perhaps snatched by scavengers — and it needs to be reset.

Mr Matthews takes care to place it with ample shade and water to save crocodiles discomfort before he returns.

The men search for further evidence of a killer in their midst. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

To him, crocs are an ongoing source of fascination, of grave danger and a livelihood, especially if they can be killed — generally shot at close range — without too much damage to the lucrative skull and skin.

He admits his deep admiration for the creatures jars with his work.

"Admittedly, I do shoot them, but it's a legal sort of thing that happens," he explained.

"But everything we do, we do ethically and humanely."

Mr Byrne keeps guard as the trap is reset. ( ABC Radio Darwin: Jesse Thompson )

For mines and pastoral stations that employ him, he is a vital buffer between them and the ancient ambush predators that inhabit them.

"There's a fair bit of diversity, but at the end of the day it's still hot, there's still a lot of kilometres to drive, and the old Land Rover doesn't have any air con," he said of his work.

"But it's why we do it — it's why we live in the Territory."

He places a piece of meat in the trap and raises the door in the direction of a suspiciously murky body of water nearby.

The trap is set and the waiting game begins.