‘Traumatised’: Man’s wife and children watch as he is attacked by crocodile in Far North Queensland

There’s been a huge update in the hunt for the whopper croc that killed a fisherman in a horror river attack on the weekend.

A whopper crocodile measuring 4.9m has been killed following a horror attack on a fisherman in Far North Queensland on Saturday.

The Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation confirmed wildlife officers had “humanely euthanised” a large crocodile believed to be responsible for the fatal attack on a NSW man on the Annan River near Cooktown, about 2000km north of Brisbane.

“The crocodile was located in a small creek during a helicopter search on 5 August 2024 around four kilometres upstream of the incident location,” the department said on Monday afternoon.

“The animal had markings on its snout that were consistent with it being the target animal.

The search for the NSW man continued into Monday. Credit: 7News

“Wildlife officers are removing the animal from the creek and will hand it over to the Queensland Police Service.”

The man’s wife and children were left “traumatised” after witnessing the attack, which happened while the man was fishing, police have revealed.

The New South Wales family were on a caravan trip when they stopped near the Annan River Bridge, south of Cooktown, on Saturday afternoon.

The 40-year-old man and his family were fishing on the river bank when he fell into the water and failed to resurface.

Witnesses told police they saw a “large crocodile” before the father fell in.

A crocodile reportedly named “Crocodile Bend” is known to frequent the area and was believed to be seen nearby.

The crocodile believed to be responsible for the attack has not yet been located. Picture: Supplied

Locals said the crocodile regularly feeds on roadkill that people throw in the river.

On Monday, video on social media appeared to show a man throwing food into the waterway, with a crocodile in the water consuming the material.

At a briefing on Monday, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation senior conversation officer Daniel Guymer called the behaviour “risky and reckless”.

“So any information and evidence in relation to alleged illegal activities, such as the unlawful feeding of a crocodile at that location, they will be investigated by our wildlife officers,” he said.

Senior Sergeant Greg Finucane offered his condolences to the family who have been left distressed by the tragedy.

“(They) are obviously very traumatised at the moment,” he said.

The attack sparked a frantic search involving about five Queensland Police officers, and 15 personnel from State Emergency Service and DESI wildlife officers.

Drones and watercraft are being used in the search for the missing father.

The search and rescue mission continued Monday, with authorities tasked with searching about 5km of waterways.

“The natural common movement and habitat of crocodiles has to be taken into account (as well),” Sergeant Finucane said.

The crocodile is not believed to have been spotted since the attack.

A Queensland environment department spokesman told 7News that wildlife officers from Cairns had travelled to Cooktown to conduct a preliminary site inspection of a section of the Annan River.

“Additional wildlife officers are on standby to travel to Cooktown should they be required,” they said.

“While the circumstances of this matter are yet to be confirmed, we remind everyone that Cooktown is known ‘Croc Country’ and urge everyone to be safe by practising ‘CrocWise’ behaviour.”

Originally published as ‘Traumatised’: Man’s wife and children watch as he is attacked by crocodile in Far North Queensland