Cairns Pets: be careful of crocodiles as wet season approaches

Cairns Pets are at real risk of being attacked by crocodiles when holidaying around Far North Queensland.  Be careful with your dogs near rivers, estuaries and even beaches.  While rivers close to Cairns rarely have crocodiles in significant numbers, there have been sightings in the Mulgrave River and even in the Botanic Gardens Precinct.  Because this year has been so wet, rivers have remained swollen which makes it easier for crocs to get further upstream. 

The real danger is in the bigger river inlets close to the ocean, so areas like Russell Heads and the inlet areas around Cairns, Machans Beach, Holloways Beach and like pose a low but real risk.  The further you get from a large city like Cairns, the worse it gets and the Daintree, Bloomfield and Endeavour rivers are well stocked with good size crocodiles and you would be unwise to test the waters there. 

While most locals know and may even accept the risks, visitors from Southern Australia are often shocked that there may be crocodiles in apparently appealing swimming spots.  Better safe than sorry, and look carefully for Crocodile Warning signs.  If you aren't sure, ask a local.

Check out this crocodile which was caught in 2008 in Cooktown River, as reported by The Cairns Post

Third croc captured

A THIRD croc has been hauled from the Endeavour River and into captivity, as the quest to unravel the mystery disappearance of Brisbane camper Arthur Booker continues.

In a first for the Environmental Protection Agency, the 3.5m saltie will undergo an X-ray examination in Cairns today, with two animals already pulled from the water.

Mr Booker, 62, disappeared last Tuesday after making a final check on crabpots near the campground where he and wife Doris, 60, had been staying.

Click here to see our picture gallery of the search for Mr Booker. 

He is believed to have either tumbled into the river, where he fell prey to crocs, or to have been snatched by one of the giant predators as he made his check.

The EPA's Michael Devery told The Cairns Post the giant reptiles would be X-rayed at a Cairns vet clinic today.

"The EPA hasn't been involved in a croc X-ray," Mr Devery said.

"It's a big animal but the facility we're using has a large X-ray machine.

Click here to see our croc picture gallery. 

"We'll use appropriate person power to put that animal through the X-ray."

The 3.5m male and a 2.6m female captured on Saturday will be driven from Cooktown to EPA sheds at Portsmith where they will join a 4.3m male already in captivity before the examination.

The big saltie, who weighs between 400kg and 500kg, had already undergone an endoscopy Mr Devery said.

"But that wasn't enough to determine anything," he said.

Another three traps remain in the Endeavour River, outside Cooktown.

"But that will be assessed after examination of the animals," Mr Devery said.

"We'll see what's revealed."

From the archives: A young Bob Katter makes no bones about what he thinks of crocs, even fibreglass ones!

 

Gotcha: A third croc has been hauled from the Endeavour River and into captivity, as the quest to unravel the mystery disappearance of a Brisbane camper Arthur Booker continues.