A saltwater
crocodile up to four metres long cleared a popular Australian beach on the
weekend after it was spotted lurking in the water.
Broome’s
Cable Beach, in Western Australia, is a major tourism hotspot – attracting
thousands of people to the 22km stretch every year.
But the
popular beach was closed on Saturday after the male crocodile was seen lazing
about in knee-deep water for the entire day.
Broome woman
Sharon Scoble said she was amazed by how big the reptile was. ‘He was a big boy
- his head was huge,’ she said.
‘It would be
all over red rover if he got hold of you.’ The croc did
not show signs of aggression, but Ms Scoble said it was looking at people on
the beach.
‘I felt
really humbled but you probably wouldn’t feel that way if you were out there on
a paddle board or having a swim," she said.
By Sunday
morning, the crocodile had moved on. Parks and Wildlife senior operation
officer Dave Woods said he believed it was the same crocodile that had been
spotted in a number of locations in the area around December.
He estimated
it was 3.5 metres to four metres long. Officials
are now searching for the animal in order to move it to the Malcolm Douglas
Wilderness Park, 16km east of Broome.
The sighting
follows the disappearance of a 12-year-old boy last month, who was taken by a
saltwater crocodile while swimming with friends in the Kakadu National Park in
the Northern Territory.
In that
incident, witnesses saw the crocodile approach the group and bite a 15-year-old
boy on the arm.
The reptile,
dubbed one of Australia’s most dangerous predators, let go of the 15-year-old
when he began to fight back and turned on the 12-year-old, before swimming off
with him.
Experts said
the ‘wet season’ is the most dangerous time to be swimming in waterholes and
creeks.
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