Original story by By Frances Adcock, ABC News
Rangers have captured one of the two crocodiles lurking in the Mary River near Maryborough in south-east Queensland.
Crocodile seen near Maryborough, another 3.5 metre crocodile sitting on the banks of the Mary River in May 2012. Photo: Brad Marsellos, ABC Wide Bay
The 3.1 metre female saltwater crocodile was harpooned by rangers on a boat patrol of the Mary River in Maryborough overnight.
This croc was first spotted by fishermen in July, but the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has been patrolling the river since May 2012, when the first 3.5 metre crocodile was sighted.
Environment Minister Andrew Powell says the female croc had shown no interest in the tasty food traps on offer.
“This croc has been very wary of our rangers on the river for many months now,” he said.
Mr Powell says it was quite an operation to catch the reptile.
“It surfaced about a metre away from one of our boats at about 2:00am (AEST) and [rangers] were able to fire a non-lethal harpoon and then wrap it up in a piece of rope and actually swim it in to a boat ramp,” 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.
“Between my rangers and some very helpful police officers, they were able to remove it from the water and have it ready to transport to a croc farm in Rockhampton in central Queensland.”
However, Mr Powell says despite the capture, residents should remain vigilant with the larger saltie still lurking.
“People do need to be croc-wise around the Mary River,” he said.
“The one remaining is even larger again and people need to be very careful around boat ramps and fishing.”
Rangers say they will continue boat patrols until it is caught.
Crocodile experts say the pair may have been breeding.
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