Another Fatal Crocodile Attack (Adelaide River)

Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 09:13
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Very sad but it seems another case of not obeying the "DONT'S" when in croc country. They shot the crocodile in question, however I note they do this for either of 2 reasons, sometimes to retrieve the body or to kill the culprit.

What are your opinions on this: (Putting this up for question, not my thoughts)

Shooting the croc after the attack , what does it really accomplish? Is this a case of once the croc turns man eater he is a danger? If that's the case why not shoot them before they kill, and via a controlled cull? I know this has been discussed before but after another fatality it's always relevant imo.

Croc Attack Adelaide River
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Reply By: Emerging I.T. - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 09:18

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 09:18
Here is another report with more information, the croc was a 4.5 metre animal known as Michael Jackson.

Croc called Michael Jackson killed.
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Reply By: Ross M - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 09:48

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 09:48
Isn't every crocodile a Man Eater, we are called food. Sometimes silly food which goes and sits on the plate ready for consumption.

It would seem, shooting a croc afterwards means that croc won't do it again.

All the people who entice crocs to jump to food for tourists should be fed to the crocs
so the practice dies out so to speak. Crocs now seem happy to approach small craft and sometimes bite at boats where they never often seemed to do that years ago.

I think we could make the price of handbags much cheaper and still not endanger the croc population.
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Follow Up By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:54

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:54
Couldn't agree more! In the 60/70's the sound of a tinnie coming round the bend meant danger to a croc as there was a good chance there was a shooter in it. Now the sound of a tinnie generally means food.

People do some silly things in croc country. Familiarity breeds contempt and I can't imagine why anyone would not assume there is a croc lurking nearby. They are getting more numerous and larger so it stands to reason that more care is required.

Kind regards
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Follow Up By: CSeaJay - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:54

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:54
Ross said "All the people who entice crocs to jump to food for tourists should be fed to the crocs"

I cant agree more. This practice establishes a behaviour pattern. Bad for us, therefore bad for crocs
CJ
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Follow Up By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 13:01

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 13:01
BTW I enjoy the company of crocs when I'm fishing but have no problem with the culling of problem crocs.
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Reply By: Member - KBAD - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:06

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:06
Condolences to the family but the only reason there is IMO in shooting the croc is to make people feel better, any croc will take a human if they think they can and get the chance, bit strange putting that question to a 4.5 metre crocodile "if you eat a human we will kill you" I don't think it would understand after all they don't speak human.
It is not like Disney world or suburbia at all, "shock horror" dangerous animals and large carnivorous predators will kill you if you let them.
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Follow Up By: Member - bbuzz (NSW) - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:45

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:45
The key sentence in the above clips, is '100 metres from where the jumping crocodiles put on a show' (loosely translated).

I have always felt that teaching crocodiles that you could get a feed from a boat was a bad idea.

If the boat doesn't turn up that day or is late, won't the crocs go looking for it or a substitute?

These animals are not afraid of anything now. When the sound of a gun was heard, back in the 'bad' days the crocs would slip into the river and go away or just hide. They knew what could be happening.

If you have been in Arnhem Land or anywhere for that matter, the increase in crocodile numbers should be cause for concern. We need to introduce culling again.

bill
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Follow Up By: gbc - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 16:04

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 16:04
That bloke basically fed himself to a croc at a boat ramp. I think you are drawing a long bow to suggest croc feeding had anything to do with it. Enter the water up to your waist while there is a croc nearby in any river or billabong and you will end up giving St Peter a belly laugh as you try to plead your case. I don't agree with croc feeding, but using this brain surgeon's plight as a case for culling isn't going to push that barrow too far.
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Reply By: The Landy - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:46

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 10:46
Authorities end up in an insidious position with this type of tragic event.

They’ll be called to account for either doing nothing, or doing something. So I suspect the easiest approach to take is to remove the specific threat.

From a personal viewpoint, I find it hard to advocate killing an animal simply because it is doing what instinct suggests it should, unless it presents a clear and present danger. But on the question of culling in areas that gets high visitations from tourists, perhaps that is something that needs to be considered more fully.

But either way, caution is the key to preventing any type of tragedy. And this incident should be viewed through the correct lens, and that is it is a lapse of judgement. Whether it occurs while crossing a busy road, fording a river in your four-wheel drive, or fishing in crocodile habitats, they can all have dire consequences…


Baz – The Landy
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Reply By: Batt's - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 11:33

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 11:33
There is an increased number of crocs around these days that's just natures way of trying to recover from the slaughter and get back to the natural balance of things which we keep interfering with and we are suppose to be the smart ones what a joke. I think if you want to live up north you should learn to live and respect them and not just shot them because they were there or near our favourite fishing hole or eating some idiot who is swimming or standing too close to the rivers edge . It's like the authorities wasting money removing them from Darwin harbour giving people a false sense of security leave them there make us aware of their presence they're not the pests we are remember we are the ones that decided to live in their area they didn't come to us. If you think they're dangerous and should be slaughtered just because you refuse to adjust to their way of surviving then move south but watch out for the spiders, snakes, sharks etc,etc we live in a unique part of the world but we still want to control everything and we need to educate ourselves about how not to upset the balance but maybe we will figure it out in a few more hundred years. It's just like people whinging about there being too many whales around now because their on the increase and I want to drive my boat on the ocean in the path they have used for thousands of years but now I'm at an increasing risk of getting hit or hitting one who was here first. By the way I live in croc territory in QLD and I'm not a greenie and I've owned 3 boats but I can adjust it takes no effort at all enjoy our country don't destroy it and everything that lives here.
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Reply By: OBJ - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:50

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 12:50
The bloke that was taken waded into the water to unsnag his fishing line. Doh! No doubt he'd have been either aware of, or warned, seen signs and heard about crocs and the dangers they present, esp around Adelaide River. But he ignored it all ... Well, you reap as you sow. And a crocodile who was doing nothing more than being a crocodile has to be killed for whatever reason.

Some tour operators further north who also work with crocs say we are not far off when a crocodile will see a boat full of tourists on the Adelaide River, and decide that it is better to jump into the boat for a feed rather than leaping up for a piece of meat on the end of a stick.

Not sure who the authorities will shoot then .. crocs or stupid tour operators.

A tragedy that could have been avoided.
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Follow Up By: garrycol - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 14:18

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 14:18
I find it amazing how many locals get taken compared with tourists.

The guy in this was a Darwin resident - my condolences to his family in particular his wife but what was the guy thinking wading into the water.

The croc was obviously stalking the people on the bank and took advantage of one going into the water.

All in all a read shame.

Garry
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Reply By: wombat100 - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 14:45

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 14:45
Gee- there is certainly some 'ex-perts' on here !!

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Follow Up By: Bigfish - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:04

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:04
Bloke was a bloody idiot. Bit like your ridiculous comment wombat..
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Reply By: Willy W - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 15:53

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 15:53
Sadly there is a photo in the NT newspaper's croc files of another idiot chest deep in the water at Shady camp retrieving a snagged $15 lure . Croc bait is the comment. I feel sorry for the relatives of the man.
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Reply By: Top End Az - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 16:04

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 16:04
It's always devastating when someone gets taken. More so for the family members who must endure the pain afterwards. Our hearts always go out to all involved and hope it never happens again ......

As a local of Darwin for 14 years, I have never ventured near the waters edge. With the knowledge they are in the water enough to deter most, surely the adequate signage in multiple languages must also deter those who wouldn't otherwise know.

However, at the end of the day, crocs do what crocs do, and if you are in the water, you are on the menu. Crocs also jump naturally. No one taught them how to do it.

Shooting suspected crocs I understand is more for the purpose of victim identification and confirmation, however I do stand to be corrected.

More recently, the numbers have been dramatically increasing. When people are now getting taken out of their boats (refer Kakadu 2 weeks ago) the number and size of crocs is seriously getting out of control and is problematic when they are trying to co-exist in a human populated area.

The problem is that Beaureaucrats seem to think that they aren't a problem. Any talk of culling is always shot down (pardon the pun). I have always said that if large crocs in big numbers aren’t a problem around populated areas then please allow the NT Govt to relocate 1000 of our largest beasts into Sydney Harbour and Lake Burley Griffin to alleviate the pressures up here.
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Reply By: Emerging I.T. - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:30

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:30
Going back to the death of Bill Scott killed at Kakadu in June apparently he was standing at the back of his moored boat, he was not hanging over the side. This means the game has changed a little in terms of boat setup as far as I am concerned. Check out the Rangers boat in the link below, the steel grates are there for a reason. It may be just a matter of time some people say when the croc will jump into the boat if necessary?

Bill Scott Crocodile Attack
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Follow Up By: Top End Az - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:40

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 18:40
Thanks for the correction. It only felt like a couple of weeks ago. Feels like a more and more common occurrence.
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Follow Up By: pop2jocem - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 19:30

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 19:30
We had the pleasure of taking the Yellow Waters cruise a few weeks ago from Cooinda. We did the early morning one. Everything was starting to commence their daily routine. Including the crocs.
As the tour boat was making it's slow way along the waterways, a large animal, according to our tour guide and boat skipper, somewhere in the vicinity of 4.5 to 5 meters long was going our way. Certainly an impressive sight swimming slowly along with just a ridge of tail scales breaking the surface as the tail moved slowly back and forth. The eyes and nostrils showing in front. Not one bit concerned by the presence of our thankfully high freeboard boat.
As we wound our way along we came upon a couple of early bird fisher folk. Two guys in what looked like about a 15' tinnie with reasonable height, and another couple in a much smaller and lower boat of 3.5 meters. As we aproached with our escorting croc it slowed further and turned towards the two smaller boats. It stopped about maybe 5 or 6 meters from these boats and just had it's head pointed in their direction. The skipper of our boat was about to call out when it became apparent that the occupants of both craft were aware of the croc. The two guys in the larger boat just went on fishing. The crew in the smaller boat decided discretion was the better part of valor and high tailed it out of there.
The point of all of that? This dangerous animal had absolutely no fear of any of our boats, even the largish tour boat.
How could I be so sure the smaller craft was 3.5 meters? The guy and his wife were camped just down the way in the CP we were in. After that little encounter the wife was not going out in their boat for love nor money. The guy wanted to know if I was interested in going out with him.
I kindly declined.

Cheers
Pop
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Follow Up By: Steve in Kakadu - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 22:21

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 22:21
I can assure you that Scott either fell out of the boat or was grabbed from the boat, I spoke with the police that spent the night looking for him at 6.30am the following morning at BP Jabiru while I was fuelling up.

They said that nobody saw what happened, one minute he was in the back of the boat and the next minute we saw a splash and he was gone.

As for the bloke last night well if you play with fire you will get burnt, the croc that got shot was a one of a kind part albino, hence the name Michael Jackson.

4 deaths in 12 months with a possible 5th death yet to be fully determined, every one of those 4 were self-inflicted including the one that was a school friend and class mate of my son, the people that I feel sorry for are the ones that have to retrieve the bodies of the dead torn up corpses and return them to their loved ones.

Stay safe when visiting up here and take care.

Cheers Steve
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Follow Up By: gbc - Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 05:59

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 05:59
Pop2jocem, that behaviour is fairly normal for crocs. We had a 25 foot model cruise around us on the bank at east vernon island, then cruise right over to the ship anchored in the channel, do a couple of laps and then finally get disinterested. They look very much like they are trying to work out how to get the yummy humans out of the tin can. We've also had them swimming around trawlers in the open ocean in the Torres straits. You won't catch me in a car topper zipping around the top end, I've had enough thrills.
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Reply By: Member - Serendipity(WA) - Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 22:26

Tuesday, Aug 19, 2014 at 22:26
Very sad when someone does get taken.

I lived in Darwin for year and was a regular fisherman. Yes the crocodiles were unnerving with lots of them stalking the boat. I was very careful with crocodile and did not wade into water even when launching the boat.

As for jumping crocodiles - they will jump in their natural habitat and I have witnessed this when we saw a croc jump 5ft to snatch a bird out of a tree.

If anyone has tried to fish on the Mary were the jumping tours operate it is a terrible place to fish. The water is very muddy with not a lot of fishing spots or back eddys to catch fish in. We found it a waste of time to fish in that area. Plus way too many crocs.

To fish off the bank in the N.T. is just asking for trouble. Crocs will basically launch themselves their entire body length out of the water.

Photos below - Very large crocs on the bank while out fishing
And a croc just waiting near our boat.

Serendipity







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Reply By: Iza B - Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 06:04

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 06:04
Are we absolutely sure he was not pushed? I have seen lots of people dive to snagged lures up that way but not where the crocs have been trained to follow the boats. Any local would be well informed of the presence of crocs, quite used to humans and their association with food, at that particular place.

As usual, I am amazed at the number of comments based on some assumptions of what the guy was thinking and news stories of what might have actually happened.

Iza
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Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 06:21

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 06:21
Our fishing guide did just that!
My son hooked up a Barra then got snagged up under a log, the guide took hold of his line and hopped out of the boat and followed the line under water up to his neck and untangled the fish which was subsequently landed
There were crocs everywhere and I could not believe what he did, all I can remember thinking is taking a mental note of how to drive his boat and the way back home
Crazy stuff!
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Follow Up By: get outmore - Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 10:50

Wednesday, Aug 20, 2014 at 10:50
Iza - every statistic will show its a myth that dumb southerners and tourists get taken by crocs
- sure a small % does but by far and away its top enders being taken by crocs

its like the myth city folk die on country roads because thier not used to the distances /dirt roads

once again its only a small % of city folk and the vast majority of people dying on country roads are the local folk
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 13:49

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 13:49
What a croc!
Of course there are more locals taken by crocs than Southerner's..........Its a bit like saying there are more coastal dwellers taken by sharks than desert dwellers. LOL
The old reliability of stats again...........
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 13:52

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 13:52
"once again its only a small % of city folk and the vast majority of people dying on country roads are the local folk"
Might have something to do with being the vast majority of people travelling on them too?
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Follow Up By: Slow one - Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 16:43

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 16:43
Hairy,
I have studied the local versus city stats for years and over time I have come to the conclusion that, more country locals get drunk in their pub than those from the city do in the same pub.

It has cost me a fortune to study this phenomenon and that is without any assistance from the government.
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Follow Up By: Hairy (NT) - Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 16:50

Saturday, Aug 23, 2014 at 16:50
Hahahahaha!!!!!! You've got me LOL
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Reply By: Bongo (NT) - Friday, Aug 22, 2014 at 00:30

Friday, Aug 22, 2014 at 00:30
Mmmm! We have duck season and goose season. It is about time we have croc season. The government or TOSs could make some money out of this; so many dollars for each animal. Boost the local economy. Time for a culling.
AnswerID: 538012

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