Locals claim crocodile spotted at Noosa on Sunshine Coast

A fisherman who spotted what looks to be a crocodile near Noosa has revealed why he’s positive it was not a false alarm, as a new theory comes to light.

A crocodile has purportedly been spotted at a popular South East Queensland beach, with multiple locals claiming they had seen the rare sight, sparking an investigation.

A number of people took to social media on Sunday to tell residents they had seen a crocodile along the Noosa Spit.

An investigation into the incident is under way with authorities conducting a land based search on Sunday afternoon.

James Graham told The Courier-Mail he was fishing with his friend Kai Tapley on Sunday afternoon when he saw what looked like a crocodile on his Garmin fish finder.

“We went out fishing, like we always do but it was different to other days,” he said.

“We didn’t get a bite. We’re looking around thinking, what’s wrong? Why aren’t we catching anything?

“Then we saw what looked like a crocodile.”

Mr Graham said he was pretty confident it was a crocodile.

Tail, snout … but is it a crocodile?

“And the reason I can say that is because Kai and I regularly go a few hundred kilometres north into croc waters, and use the Garmin fish finder to look around, and you’ll see an old car or a boot or something on the bottom, and then you’ll spot a croc,” he said.

“But down here in Noosa, to see exactly what we see many kilometres further north. That just says it’s a croc to me, tell me that’s not a croc.”

Mr Graham said he thought it could have been a dolphin or a shovelnose shark but quickly ruled both of them out.

“We looked at it and thought “bloody hell, there’s a croc” on my screen,” he said.

”When we zoomed in, it looks like a tail dragging along the sand with little claws out to the sides, walking and kind of a snout, much like a crocodile.

“Unless it’s a mermaid or something, I don’t really know what it what else it could be.”

Mr Graham said he had seen an earlier post from Ross Buckley on social media who said he had seen a “3.5 metre” crocodile on his 6.30am stroll but dismissed it.

“I just thought that’s one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard, as if there’d be a crocodile in Noosa, let alone in the middle of winter,” he said.

“It’s Noosa in the middle of winter. I mean, the water is 20 degrees when we were out there yesterday.

“If it was cold for me, it’d be cold for a croc, that’s for sure. So just to see that makes no sense at all, but to know what I’m seeing, because I’ve seen crocs on my sounder a lot further north, it says a lot, like crocodile to me.”

Mr Buckley on social media said he had in the area for 30 years and never seen anything like it.

Ross Buckley said he had been on his usual 6.30am stroll when saw a 3.5-metre crocodile a few metres off the shoreline.

“Just wanted to give a heads up to all the locals who walk their dogs here early and usually swim around this area, be careful and stay safe.”

Many people reacted with disbelief on socials to Mr Buckley’s post, asking for photographic proof.

“Seen by multiple people yet not one photo? Seems more like one Chinese whisper and it has spread like wildfire,” one person said.

“I thought it’s too cold this far south, especially in winter. I think there’s been some big goanna seen in the area in past years,” another person commented.

Fishermen James Graham and Kai Tapley have spoken about their shocking find. Picture: Sunrise

Fishing Warehouse’s expert lure angler David Hodge said the scanner might have picked up an indent in the sand, rather than a marine animal.

“I would say it is a coincidence that the shadow takes on the same shape or form of a crocodile,” Mr Hodge said.

“That (radar is) shooting from the centre of the boat out to the left hand side

“If that (sand bed) contour rises up and then goes down, it’s going to throw a shadow on the left hand side of it.

“It could be a shallow rock ridge on the bottom that the sand and mud has eroded around it and just left that little rock exposed.

“Or it could be harder sediment on the bottom where the flowing water has eroded the sediment around it and left that harder sediment above the bottom level.”

This “crocodile” was sighted at the Noosa spit which is known for opening the local river up to the ocean, letting in saltwater.

“It’s possible but you couldn’t definitely say that it is a croc,” he said.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Rangers investigated the mystery and, “found no evidence of a crocodile”.

“While the investigation is ongoing, people are asked to be vigilant around the water,” a Queensland Parks spokesperson said.

“The Noosa area is considered atypical crocodile habitat, and any crocodile confirmed to be present will be targeted for removal from the wild.”

The spokesperson urged anyone who sees what they believe to be a crocodile in the Noosa area to make a sighting report on their website.

A Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation spokesman said an investigation was under way.

“We are aware of social media reports regarding a reported crocodile sighting today at the Noosa Spit and are investigating the matter further,” he said.

“The Boyne River near Gladstone, some 300km to the north, is commonly considered the southern boundary of typical crocodile habitat.

“Crocodile sightings should be reported by using the QWildlife app, completing a crocodile sighting report on the DETSI website, or by calling 1300 130 372. We investigate every crocodile sighting report we receive.”