SANDY HOOK CROC? Bundy sighting one of many over the years

A REPORTED crocodile sighting in the region is not the first. So what lurks beneath our waters?

Crocodile sightings have happened in the region from time to time.

A REPORTED crocodile sighting in the region is not the first.

So what lurks beneath our waters?

A crocodile sighting was reported in the Burnett River at Sandy Hook near Bundaberg on Sunday by a family that was jet skiing.

Simone Barry took to social media to warn of her sighting, which happened about 11.30am.

She said the reptile was about 1.5 metres long, located along the Burnett River in line with 1500 Childers Rd.

Simone said her family had seen the crocodile multiple times in the water.

Was a croc chilling at Sandy Hook?

"My husband saw it first. He saw its face and body near some low-lying branches of a tree near the bank," she told Bundaberg Now.

"Then it ducked down under the water."

The environment department is investigating.

The sighting follows another on January 17.

Wildlife officers from the Department of Environment and Science investigated the sighting at Coolooloi on Fraser Island.

A member of the public saw what they believed to be a crocodile near the Coolooloi camping area and reported it to DES.

Wildlife officers carried out a site assessment of the area and could not locate a crocodile. Wildlife officers are monitoring for further reports.

Croc reports at Fraser Island have happened here and there over the years.

A little closer to home, it was October last year when a crocodile warning sign went up at Woodgate after a resident saw a reptile in the water, but the sign came down soon after wildlife officers found no signs of a croc.

In 2018, crocodile warning signs were erected on the Burnett River near the Sandy Hook ski club after a reported sighting at 9.30am on Christmas eve, followed by another on December 29 that year around 5pm.

The Department of Environment and Science confirmed the two sightings.

"On both occasions the animal was seen swimming slowly, but was not behaving in an aggressive or otherwise dangerous manner," a department spokesman said.

Was this a croc or just a log? An expert says log.

Earlier that year, a Bundaberg grandmother made front page news when she rode an inflatable tube straight over the top of a crocodile in the Burnett River.

But the environment department later said it was possibly a lungfish.

Shelley Chadwick with Kallan, 11, and Jayden Barritt, 13. Picture: Craig Warhurst

Further back, in January 2016, a photo emerged of a what was believed to be a crocodile sunning itself at Elliott Heads.

But Snakes Downunder owner Ian Jenkins spoke to the NewsMail at the time to say the object was too sleek and shiny and didn't have a rough enough finish to be a croc.

Surf Life Saving Queensland Wide Bay Capricorn regional manager Craig Holden, who patrols at Elliott Heads, also said crocs were a possibility, but a very minimal one.

"It's certainly a possibility but I'd have to say it'd be very doubtful," he said.

"As far as I know there's been no croc sightings for as long as I can remember.

"It's always a concern because they've been seen in the Mary River."

A Mary River croc who was captured for relocation. Picture: Boni Holmes

In 2012, a crocodile was in Jones Weir at Mundubbera.

The 2m croc was caught by fisheries officers and it was believed he had been snacking on the plentiful supply of fish.

And the croc history in the region goes back even further.

In 2008, claims a croc was lurking in Baffle Creek were given credence after after Mel Grills said he saw the head of a crocodile that had been shot in Baffle creek in 1940.

Reports were later confirmed when in 2014 when university studies confirmed crocs are living in Baffle Creek.

In 1966, Bundaberg Police were asked to help look for a crocodile that escaped in Bundaberg.

The 2ft croc was owned by Peter Barry of 13 Burrum St, who had been planning to establish a reptile park near the airport.

There were fears the crocodile may find a place to live and could become a danger.

The Maryborough Chronicle documented odd splashing sounds in the Burnett River near Mundubbera in 1934.

Apparently, fishers at the time believed something sinister to be at work, with some claiming to have seen something with gleaming eyes.

At the time, the newspaper editor guessed it may have been a crocodile.