Crocodile nabs turtle near swimming kids
HEAVY rain which washed turtles and other wildlife out of creeks and rivers on the Cassowary Coast could explain the sighting of a large crocodile at Bingil Bay, south of Cairns.
Luke Flaherty was driving along the coast north of Mission Beach on Saturday afternoon when he spotted something that looked like a log.
It was in fact a 3.5m crocodile swimming towards a small beach.
Mr Flaherty whipped out Watch the video at www.cairnspost.com.au his drone and started filming the reptile as it was swimming with a turtle in its mouth.
The video has fascinated the public and has received thousands of shares on social media.
Steve McGuinness, owner of wildlife rehabilitation service Mission Beach Wildcare, said he had rescued freshwater turtles washed into the ocean by heavy rain in March.
“I’m assuming crocs may have been disoriented and washed out to sea,” he said.
“There are lots of crocs in the Hull River (near Tully), maybe some of those have been displaced.
“We might have had one or two more sightings than usual but they live around these sorts of places and they move up and down the coast. They are seen every now and again. But you can go down to Mission Beach ALL LIGHT and there is no one else around so they’re probably there but the chance of seeing a croc is pretty low.”
Before he started filming, Mr Flaherty spotted two children swimming nearby and ordered them out of the water.
“Between when I first saw it and got the kids out, it had grabbed the turtle and had begun swimming away. I said to the kids, ‘you’re lucky he found that turtle otherwise it could have been one of you’.”
Despite witnessing the close encounter, Mr Flaherty said he would still swim at the beaches around Bingil Bay. FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
“It was really cool to see. I have never seen one in the ocean. I know they’re in there,” he said. “It kind of made me think twice but I still would swim there because I know they don’t live there. He was just swimming by.”
The State Government warns resident and visitors to expect crocodiles in all northern Queensland waterways even if there is no warning signs.
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