4.5m croc terrorising fishosEMILY WATKINS
April 19th, 2010
A MASSIVE croc has been nicking a feed from fishermen ina popular barra fishing spot. Matt West told the Northern Territory News the beast is more than 4.5m long, and took the only three barramundi he caught last weekend at Shady Camp barrage on the Mary River. Mr West said other mates had a similar problem in the past week.
"The croc probably knows it's an easy feed there," he said. "If you slipped in there it'd only be a matter of time ... if it wanted to it could definitely take someone."
He said the croc was known to come in when fishermen did, and had probably learnt that fishermen meant there would be a meal for it. Mr West said he wanted to make fishermen aware of the croc. "I'm not stating it should be removed or killed or anything ... it's their area so just respect them," he said.
Mr West said a 4.6m croc that died nearby last month when rangers were trying to catch it had been "giving people a bit of grief". Locals said that the beast had learnt to attack boats because it had been hand-fed by tourists. Tour operator Dean McFarlane said tourists were luring it in with barra, and he had known of it for 10 years. A team of rangers caught the croc at the third barrage, just downstream from the Shady Camp boat ramp.
Last month, three tourists got the fright of their lives, when a hungry 3m saltie launched itself into their tinny at Shady Camp. The men from New South Wales had been fishing and were reeling in a barra when the hungry beast lurched out of the water.
"The croc probably knows it's an easy feed there," he said. "If you slipped in there it'd only be a matter of time ... if it wanted to it could definitely take someone."
He said the croc was known to come in when fishermen did, and had probably learnt that fishermen meant there would be a meal for it. Mr West said he wanted to make fishermen aware of the croc. "I'm not stating it should be removed or killed or anything ... it's their area so just respect them," he said.
Mr West said a 4.6m croc that died nearby last month when rangers were trying to catch it had been "giving people a bit of grief". Locals said that the beast had learnt to attack boats because it had been hand-fed by tourists. Tour operator Dean McFarlane said tourists were luring it in with barra, and he had known of it for 10 years. A team of rangers caught the croc at the third barrage, just downstream from the Shady Camp boat ramp.
Last month, three tourists got the fright of their lives, when a hungry 3m saltie launched itself into their tinny at Shady Camp. The men from New South Wales had been fishing and were reeling in a barra when the hungry beast lurched out of the water.
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