Aussie traveller's regret for 'stupid' act with famous crocodile

Jaylie Tori has admitted to feeding a large male crocodile, just weeks after on-the-spot fines for the act quadrupled.

Left: Clyde the crocodile on a river bank circled. Right: Instagram influencer Jaylie Tori posing in front of her 4WD on sand.
Instagram influencer Jaylie Tori has expressed regret after feeding a "hot chook" to a famous crocodile named Clyde. Source: @jaylietori

An Instagram traveller has expressed her regret overnight for carrying out a “stupid” act with a famous crocodile. A day earlier Jaylie Tori had been reported to Queensland authorities after she uploaded a video to the social media platform claiming to have fed a “whole chook” to the large saltwater crocodile.

"Oh my goodness, don't I feel like an idiot... I thought it would be a good idea to feed a saltwater crocodile. I went to the local shop, bought a hot chook and took it down to the creek,” she later said.

Feeding crocodiles is a serious issue because it habituates the animals, causing them to lose their fear of humans.

Fines for carrying out the act were significantly increased last month after video revealed the crocodile that killed a father-of-three David Hogbin in Cooktown had been regularly fed, habituating it to wait at the bottom of a steep bank where the attack occurred. On-the-spot fines for feeding crocodiles surged from $645 to $2,580, and if the matter is taken to court it can now cost the offender $26,615.

Advocacy group Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC), welcomed the increase in fines, but now argues the true test of their worth will be enforcement. “We need to see a crackdown on reckless behaviour before there is another fatality,” spokesperson Amanda French told Yahoo News.

"In my opinion the woman is a poster child for the new laws around intentionally feeding crocodiles," she added.

Left: Jaylie Tori in a hat and swim suit at the beach, looking at the camera. Right: Jaylie Tori sitting my river after feeding croc.
With tens of thousands of followers on social media, Jaylie Tori is an influential figure. Source: @jaylietori

With almost 76,000 followers on Instagram, and a further 12,000 on Facebook Tori's video had the potential to influence thousands of viewers. The matter was referred to the Department of Environment (DESI) by CROC, and the matter is under investigation.

Tori’s original upload is no longer available on Instagram, but a similar video without the reference to her feeding the chook is live. And a separate apology video was added on Thursday, which you can watch below.

The feeding clips featured Clyde, a large male known as an “icon crocodile” that holds particular significance to First Nations people in Babinda, south of Cairns. Yahoo News has repeatedly reported on concerns that feeding and approaching the reptile lead to him become complacent and in turn a danger to humans, making him eligible to be shot by authorities. Last year, video went viral showing a man casually fishing beside the animal on the bank he is known to frequent.

In her apology, Tori described feeding the crocodile as a “silly mistake”. “I remained a fair way away from this crocodile and I fed it from a very steep bank,” she said.

She claimed to have been unaware that feeding crocodiles is illegal, so she wants to raise awareness about the subject. Admitting she’s done the wrong thing, she conceded she’d have to deal with the consequences.

“I was so uneducated yesterday… (but) now I know that feeding the crocs is detrimental to them and the public safety because it changes the behaviour of the croc,” she said.

In a statement DESI said “Deliberately feeding crocodiles can pose a huge risk to other visitors and increase the chances of an attack. That is why penalties were recently increased for unlawful behaviour that places lives at risk.

“It is illegal to feed estuarine crocodiles in Queensland and behaviour that portrays, promotes or encourages people to feed them is totally irresponsible.”

Yahoo News has made several attempts to contact Jaylie Tori through her social media accounts.

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