In a heart-stopping turn of events captured in a viral video, the actions of a handful of Queensland residents have raised concerns over the safety of a well-known saltwater crocodile.
Australia has been making a lot of headlines recently, some good, some not so good: from its world-leading stance on psychedelics to the mental health crisis that fuelled the push for legalisation, from its eye-watering living costs to its spine-tingling nature, Australia’s got it all. However, what always sets Australia apart from the rest of the world is its sometimes-terrifying natural cohabitants.
From spiders to snakes, the Aussies have got it all, but this week a saltwater crocodile rose to viral fame after sneaking up on an utterly oblivious fisherman on The Russell River, just south of Cairns. The video — which you can watch below — was quickly picked up by major news outlets like The Independent and shows the man happily casting his line into the river whole just meters away an apparently famous crocodile known as “Clyde” slowly creeps up behind him…
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While the incident is pretty scary in of itself — with many commenting on and sharing the video in an effort to check in on the man’s health and wellbeing — the video has actually sparked a much wider discussion around the safety of the prehistoric animals, rather than the busy-fishing human. 9News, reached out to local legend Jesse Crampton to get this take on the video…
WATCH: The lurking croc and the unsuspecting fisherman…
Jesse Crampton — a bit of a local legend as founder and owner of Croc Country Australia as well as a longtime cattle farmer — has been closely observing Clyde’s behaviour for the past four years and shared his apprehension regarding recent events. In short, Clyde likes to spend a lot of time in that spot because it’s near a bridge where passers-by often choose to throw some fresh fish or a wallaby carcass his way. Sounds like a sweet deal, right? Wrong. Crampton explains why:
“When crocodiles lose the fear of people and they get food associated with humans, then they become dangerous animals.”
Jesse Crampton
In the event that an individual crocodile becomes a significant threat to human safety, the Department of Environment and Science (DES) may resort to removing the animal from its chosen habitat — a sad outcome already — but if a fatal incident is reported then the animal may have to be euthanised; a genuinely tragic outcome.
While Clyde hasn’t exhibited any such behaviour as of yet, Crampton expresses his worries about the ripple effect of people getting a little too friendly with the crocs…
“This type of behaviour does encourage others to do it. That’s the issue we’re facing; reckless behaviour does encourage the removal of crocodiles.”
Jesse Crampton
Next time you’re out fishing, it’d be best to keep your wits about you, but not for the reasons you might think. While it’s crucial for your own health and safety, you might just be saving a crocodile’s life too.