Photo showing 'crazy' act in Aussie creek highlights alarming trend
Locals have long called out the reckless antics often witnessed at crocodile-prone hotspots.
A daring man is "extremely lucky" to have "not been attacked" by one of Australia's biggest predators after engaging in what Aussies have labelled "stupid" and "crazy" behaviour. And alarmingly, such antics are becoming more and more prominent across the country, one man told Yahoo News.
A video shared online this week shows a man wearing fishing gear wading through Buffalo Creek, 17 kilometres northeast of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. He appears to be fishing using a net in the body of water known for large saltwater crocodiles.
Paul Bowen, a conservationist who monitors online videos of dangerous behaviour around crocodiles said, "the amount of videos and images coming from people being careless, especially in the past four months, is very concerning".
Speaking of the latest incident he said, "the man in the video is extremely lucky to have not been attacked by a large saltwater crocodile".
"It's only a matter of time before another person is attacked in Australia this year due to people's behaviour recently," he told Yahoo.
Reckless behaviour around croc hotspots regularly witnessed
In August, a 40-year-old doctor was with his family in Cooktown, Queensland, when he fell into the water and failed to resurface. "Human remains" were later found inside a local croc leading to it being killed. While that incident was believed to be an accident, with his wife saying they were walking on a riverbank which collapsed, deliberate and reckless behaviour in and around croc hotspots is regularly witnessed and called out.
In October, a group was snapped frolicking near the water's edge of a notorious stretch of Myall Creek at Cape Tribulation in northeast Queensland. A local man said there was a four-metre crocodile around the corner sitting on a sandbank, and there were signs everywhere warning people.
Others have been criticised for deliberately luring the animals out of the water, effectively tormenting the crocs — often with food — which is not recommended.
'Gruesome' consequence of ignoring croc safety rules
But it's "not just the individual" impacted if a crocodile attack occurs as a result of reckless behaviour, Northern Territory tour guide David McMahon told Yahoo News previously. He too has seen his fair share of unnecessary and risky behaviour.
"When someone gets taken it's not just that person that suffers the consequences. Rangers have the gruesome job of recovering what's left of the body and then they have to find and kill the crocodile responsible," he explained.
Responding to the recent incident at Buffalo Creek, people on Facebook — where the video was shared — were dumbfounded with some implying they see similar behaviour often.
"What could possibly go wrong," one said sarcastically. "I wouldn't be walking in the water. Way too many crocs," said another.
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Crocodiles hunt on water's edge
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Science told Yahoo News Australia previously it encouraged “everyone living in and visiting Croc County to make sensible choices when near the water and to always practise CrocWise behaviour”.
That includes staying at least five metres from the water’s edge as crocodiles often hunt their prey there. Other safety tips include disposing of all food and fish scraps as not to attract crocs, keep pets on a lead and away from the water’s edge, avoid using kayaks and paddle boards as crocs have taken people from small vessels, and to stay well away from crocodile traps.
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