Warroora Croc sighting
Submitted by carnarvonite on Thu, 2013-03-21 07:36
Just heard on ABC radio of a croc sighting 30 metres from shore off Pelican point on Warroora station. DEC are sending an aircraft and shore patrols to confirm the sighting.
Those planning a trip up that way in the near future will need to keep a very close eye out for it.
Muppet
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 23/11/09
still looking for it today
not the first time a croc has showed up at Warrora.
Wonder if it is the Croc from the Ashburton river at Onslow.
.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Gladstone
Going back about 3-4 years there was multiple sightings of one down as far as Gladstone, not sure what became of it.
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15652
Date Joined: 29/11/05
Unusual
Unusual spotting considering Pelican Point is a sanctuary and soft sand and nearly no one goes in there over summer months.
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shammy
Posts: 231
Date Joined: 03/07/09
crocs
So it seems they have recovered rather well, considering "they were endangered".... cough, cough, cough, and near extinction... cough, cough, cough,
So all the rivers in the Pilbara we used to swim in?? still ok...?
Sleeping on the beach near Hedland camping as a kid... still ok...?
Getting caught out on the reef chasing cowrie shells as a kid and swimming back in... still ok....?
Going down the "swamp" near the caravan park in Hedland and making rafts and swimming etc.. still ok....?
Having seen the numbers in the croc farms, the numbers in the rivers around the NT, I'd say we've put ourselves back on the menu.
JMHO but my vote is to shoot them back up to the border and let the NT keep them as a tourist attraction,
For our tourist attraction we can then have back the beaches, swamps (barra fishing) , inlets and associated back for, camping on the beach with the kids, or swimming in the Yule, west turner, east turner, Shirlock, Exmouth, and even coral bay etc without fear of being eaten... at least not by Crocs.....
But that's just my view...
"Life wasn't meant to be a spectator sport"
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Speak to most Territorians
Speak to most Territorians and you'll find out alot(not all) dont hold any fear for Crocs up there, but more respect that they live in certain areas and so to be careful if you choose to get close to or enter those waters or just choose not to enter or get close to them.
I lived in the NT for 5 years and still do Barra Trips up there with my brother who lives in Katherine with his Wife and 3 kids, all who swim in many waterway that potentially Crocs could get into. For the first 6 months of my 5 years up there i was hell paranoid about going swimming at the beach(Crocs trapped in Darwin Harbour regulary) or any water hole even if it said croc free!. Even going fishing i would stand about 3m away from the bank and see Local Territorian stand right on the edge, hell some even stood knee deep in Croc infested waters flicking lures for Barra!(still not willing to take that mush risk). But after 5 years up there i learnt not to fear them, but to respect them and make decsions accordingly. And so i eventually swam at the beaches, and the waterholes and waterfalls, i fished from the banks, the shores, the crossings and the barrages, and so i didnt let the idea of being attacked by a Croc stop me from doing what i love doing. Thats probably the bigger problem for people south of Broome. They have been without Crocs for so long, no one remembers how to live alongside them anymore.
Also got to remember the Crocs historic range in WA was down to Shark Bay. Their numbers havent bounced back to pre hunting times, but their numbers are on their way back up obviously as they migrate back to their original habitats.
Not saying Crocs shouldnt be removed from areas or if need be shot if the risk of attack is percieved as imminent or high(eg http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/03/19/17/44/huge-croc-shot-dead-in-nt), just i think killling them should be a last resort, especially if its based more on public fear and hysteria, than actual safety.
sea-kem
Posts: 15028
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Yeeeeeehhharrrrr
Yeeeeeehhharrrrr
Love the West!
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
"So it seems they have
"So it seems they have recovered rather well, considering "they were endangered".... cough, cough, cough, and near extinction... cough, cough, cough,"
They got pretty close to extinicton. 95% of Crocs gone in Northern Australia by 1971
"Prior to 1970 the Salt-water Crocodile was hunted in an unsustainable manner. In the Northern Territory as little as 3000 Salt-water Crocodiles were present. The species is now protected in all states in which it occurs. Northern Territory numbers have increased from 3000 to 30 000–40 000 in 1984 and 70 000–75 000 in 1994. Today the total Australian population is estimated to be around 100 000, although some believe the population to be between 100 000 and 200 000 (Fukuda et al. 2007). The findings of a 10 year survey on the distribution and abundance of the Salt-water Crocodile in Queensland has been summarized by Read and colleagues (2004)"
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=1774
But obviously most states now agree the populations are healthy and stable. Which is a good thing i guess?
National: Listed as Marine and Migratory under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Queensland: Listed as Vulnerable under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
Western Australia: Listed as Otherwise Specially Protected under the Wildlife Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 2003.
Northern Territory: Listed as Least Concern under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2009.
International: Listed as Least Concern on the 2009 International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
dodgy
Posts: 4580
Date Joined: 01/02/10
You learn to live with them
You learn to live with them pretty quickly.
We used to ski in the Harbour in Darwin at night when it was all glassed off. When you started getting tired just push further up a creek and spotted a few crocs.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Yeah you learn to live them
Yeah you learn to live them alright. I Spearfished in Darwin Harbour a couple of time on the neap tides, and Geezus the first time i didnt care at all about sharks(there are some BIG Tigers in the Harbour) but was sh*ting bricks about Crocs. But after a few times and in the company of locals that had been doing it for decades i learnt to relax and enjoy the wrecks and the spearfishing. Truely some magnificent diving on the wrecks up in the Harbout, though most people will never know through fear of Crocs, Sharks, strong currents and murky water. In actual fact on the lowest neap tides of the year you can sometimes get hardly any movement of water for about an hour and the vis gets to about 10m or sometimes better. I know its not to South Coast WA standards visibility, but still pretty good for a Harbour that generally looks like a Milkshake.
barneyboy
Posts: 1392
Date Joined: 08/01/09
Killing problem crocs I can understand
but killing em because you are scared of them, do not understand them, do not no how to live with them is a pretty piss weak excuse. Let them be..
FEEEISH ONNN!!!
mild_to_wild
Posts: 59
Date Joined: 03/05/10
A few of us are going there
A few of us are going there next week so will definitely keep an eye out.
Cheers for the heads up
Bluetonic
Posts: 1147
Date Joined: 09/01/08
Yes mild_to_wild seeing as
Yes mild_to_wild seeing as you will be my deckie! one of your jobs is to keep a Croc watch, or sacrifice yourself for your skipper!
Blue Sky, Blue Water, Bluetonic!