Crocodiles in Northern Australia

Crocodiles in Northern Australia are a hot topic at the moment after a yacht skipper Andrew Heard was taken from his dingy by a croc. 

The attack happened at Hinchinbrook Island and was sadly fatal.

We know from experience how powerful these animals can be after getting in a perspex cage with a 5.1 metre model.

So we decided to interview croc expert Drew Melville from Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures.

Drew worked with Steve Irwin on crocodiles in Northern Australia, when they were in their 20’s.

Back in the day before workplace health and safety!

We had a fantastic time with Drew at the park and it is a MUST SEE location if you come to Cairns.

The founder Pop Evans started the park in 1934 and was the first person in Australia to do croc shows.

Because we had such a great time with Drew, the interview lasted for over an hour.

We are still in edit of the full interview so this video is the highlights video and some up close and personal croc shots.

We will have the full interview in an upcoming blog in a few weeks.

Until then…

Enjoy our trailer video of Crocodiles in Northern Australia filmed at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures.

Crocodiles in Northern Australia are masters of camouflage.

They use associative learning so it only takes a few free feeds for them to get the idea that humans equal a free feed.

Once they lose their fear, that is when attacks can happen.

The numbers of crocodiles in Northern Australia are increasing.

As a result it is not safe to swim or kayak in any creeks and rivers – unless you are feeling very lucky don’t risk it.

The Queensland Government manage crocodiles as per the Crocodile Management Plan.

Do you like the look of that crocodile screen shot?

To help you get the most of your electronics, we cover the fundamentals in our Sounder Skills 1 course.

It’s only $20 Australian at the moment and well worth a look.

If you don’t learn anything let me know and I’ll give you your money back.

Living with Crocodiles.

We have done a previous blog post on being Croc Wise in croc country which is well worth a read.

And whilst crocs were nearly shot out of existence in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, their numbers have been increasing over the last 30 years.

Human populations are also increasing. As a result there are more interactions between people and crocs than ever before.

I ended up with a hook in the nose after one such encounter!

Moral of the story is to keep 5 metres from the water’s edge when fishing.

Only catch live bait in shallow water so any large animal can be seen approaching.

And don’t be complacent!

In fact in the NT, when helifishing beside a deep drop off at a creek mouth, we opted to “belly flop” our big barra back in the water.

Rather than go near the water’s edge.

The full interview with Drew on crocodiles in Northern Australia will be released in the coming weeks.

Until then take a look at some of our previous posts.