January 21, 2010UPDATE: A crocodile expert has said it is "highly improbable" a saltwater croc is living in a Gold Coast canal - despite tourists photographing an object there.
Senior director of the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Clive Cook, said it was highly improbable to find a crocodile as far south as the Gold Coast.
Google map: Where the crocs are
``The last confirmed sighting of a crocodile anywhere near the Gold Coast was in the Logan River in 1903 or 1905 when a three metre was shot, but we've never had a confirmed sighting since then,'' he said.
``We've had recent sighting reports, but each one of those have been followed up and never been substantiated as a confirmed sighting.
``I've had a look at the photograph and I've had extensive experience in crocodile management.
``When you look closely at the photograph it clearly is not a crocodile - I would be 99 per cent
sure.''
A number of locals have reported seeing a large turtle or dugong in the same area this week, which at a distance bore a similarity to the shape in the photograph.
Mr Cook said the crocodile's natural range was north of Gladstone, but anyone who believed they had a genuine croc sighting should contact the government hotline on 1300 130 372.
Goldcoast.com.au reported today that the tourists spotted what they believed to be a saltwater crocodile hunting ducks in the Hope Island canal on Sunday.
Crocodiles are generally accepted not to live much further south than the Boyne River near Gladstone, although last year there were sightings at Hervey Bay and Fraser Island.
The Fraser Island sighting last year prompted authorities to erect a warning sign and spend tens of thousands of dollars in an unsuccessful bid to trap the 4m creature.
Historically, the most southerly confirmed crocodile sighting was that of a large crocodile shot in the Logan River, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast in 1905.
That sighting and many others are detailed in couriermail.com.au's Google crocwatch page.
For more on this story visit goldcoast.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26615499-3102,00.html
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