Predator who took Jazzie was lurking in shallows
A MAN, whose beloved pet dog was taken by a massive crocodile in ankle-deep water, says he was almost close enough to reach out and touch the 4.5m long predator.
Graeme Draper was taking his elderly dog Jazzie for a swim at Cow Bay, north of the Daintree River, on Friday about 4pm, when the kelpiecross was snatched up in a huge crocodile’s jaws, close to the beach.
The family pet had lost a leg to cancer in December and it had only been the second time she had been taken to the beach for a swim since her operation.
Mr Draper, a Daintree resident, said the encounter with the large reptile scared the “bejesus out of him”.
“I threw a stick out for (Jazzie), not very far, about 8-10ft (2-3m),” he said.
“She went and got it and was bringing it back for me.
“And as you do, when you’ve got a dog with a stick in its mouth, you bend over.
“I’m telling her ‘good girl, good girl, bring it here.’
“And just as I went to grab the stick, this thing came out of the water.
“I saw a movement behind her, but it was sort of just like a bow wave.
“This thing came out, missed me by a couple of inches, and it took her.”
The former mariner said he could only watch as the reptile calmly swam away with his pet in its mouth, estimating the animal to be at least 4.5m long.
“What actually frightens me about this, is it could have been someone’s child.
“This thing was waiting. It was submerged and waiting. It was that close to the beach.”
He reported the encounter to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, which is investigating.