A saltwater crocodile up to four metres long cleared a popular Australian beach on the weekend after it was spotted lurking in the water.
Broome’s Cable Beach, in Western Australia, is a major tourism hotspot – attracting thousands of people to the 22km stretch every year.
But the popular beach was closed on Saturday after the male crocodile was seen lazing about in knee-deep water for the entire day.
Broome woman Sharon Scoble said she was amazed by how big the reptile was. ‘He was a big boy - his head was huge,’ she said.
‘It would be all over red rover if he got hold of you.’
The croc did not show signs of aggression, but Ms Scoble said it was looking at people on the beach.
‘I felt really humbled but you probably wouldn’t feel that way if you were out there on a paddle board or having a swim," she said.
By Sunday morning, the crocodile had moved on. Parks and Wildlife senior operation officer Dave Woods said he believed it was the same crocodile that had been spotted in a number of locations in the area around December.
He estimated it was 3.5 metres to four metres long.
Officials are now searching for the animal in order to move it to the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park, 16km east of Broome.
The sighting follows the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy last month, who was taken by a saltwater crocodile while swimming with friends in the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
In that incident, witnesses saw the crocodile approach the group and bite a 15-year-old boy on the arm.
The reptile, dubbed one of Australia’s most dangerous predators, let go of the 15-year-old when he began to fight back and turned on the 12-year-old, before swimming off with him.
Experts said the ‘wet season’ is the most dangerous time to be swimming in waterholes and creeks.
Broome’s Cable Beach, in Western Australia, is a major tourism hotspot – attracting thousands of people to the 22km stretch every year.
But the popular beach was closed on Saturday after the male crocodile was seen lazing about in knee-deep water for the entire day.
Broome woman Sharon Scoble said she was amazed by how big the reptile was. ‘He was a big boy - his head was huge,’ she said.
‘It would be all over red rover if he got hold of you.’
The croc did not show signs of aggression, but Ms Scoble said it was looking at people on the beach.
‘I felt really humbled but you probably wouldn’t feel that way if you were out there on a paddle board or having a swim," she said.
By Sunday morning, the crocodile had moved on. Parks and Wildlife senior operation officer Dave Woods said he believed it was the same crocodile that had been spotted in a number of locations in the area around December.
He estimated it was 3.5 metres to four metres long.
Officials are now searching for the animal in order to move it to the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park, 16km east of Broome.
The sighting follows the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy last month, who was taken by a saltwater crocodile while swimming with friends in the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.
In that incident, witnesses saw the crocodile approach the group and bite a 15-year-old boy on the arm.
The reptile, dubbed one of Australia’s most dangerous predators, let go of the 15-year-old when he began to fight back and turned on the 12-year-old, before swimming off with him.
Experts said the ‘wet season’ is the most dangerous time to be swimming in waterholes and creeks.
Source: DailyMail, Mirror
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