Mackay Whitsunday residents spot 4m+ crocodile, shark and stranded whale

It’s all been happening in Mackay and Whitsundays! A monster 4m+ crocodile was sunning itself on a creek bed close to town, motorists spotted a shark on an urban street and whale stranded itself on the beach. WATCH THE VIDEOS

There’s not even a full moon but Mackay has been all sorts of cray this week.

On Tuesday, Kim Lane was with her daughter driving in North Mackay at 6.15am in the pouring rain when she spotted something they did not expect to see.

There, on the corner of Hamilton and Grendon Streets, was a shark.

“It was pouring down rain. Had to stop and look because I was sure I was seeing things,” she said.

“It smelt bad so not fresh.”

The shark was gone when she drove past on Tuesday night.

Social media speculated “some lowlife caught it, then dumped it in town”.

Neil Wilson asked ‘why did the shark cross the road?’ while others immediately referenced Sharknado.

Motorists driving in North Mackay on Tuesday July 5 at 6.15am spotted a shark on the corner of Hamilton and Grendon Streets. Picture: Facebook

Kyle Clements: ‘Imagine walking out your door to find a shark on the road’.

Patricia McLean: ‘I’d rather a crocodile’.

Well, down the road on Thursday was indeed a big ole croc – the one in the video above and the picture below.

A bloke called into the Daily Mercury telling us he had just spotted a 4m+ crocodile in a creek close to town.

He shot through photos and video showing the monster reptile sunning itself on the banks of Sandy Creek, just south of Mackay right near a Bruce Highway bridge.

“It was huge,” he said.

“The people on the property said they saw an even bigger one last week.

“That’s getting so close to town.”

So we went down on Friday morning after hearing he was back and he is indeed a big snap-snap.

The two blokes on the bank about 11am both reckoned this bad boy was 4.5 to 5m long.

He did not move an inch in the time we were there, just sat in the sun.

That sighting comes just over a week after North Queensland Bulk Ports post a photo on Facebook of a big fella a the Port of Mackay.

“Spotted: a crocodile off Wharf 5 at the Port of Mackay. Contractors V2R Projects Pty Ltd snapped a pic of the croc this morning as they were working on the Wharf 5 deck replacement. They estimated it was about 2.5 metres, so a reminder to everyone to stay vigilant near the water,” the post read.

The post generated 259 comments and 878 shares.

Bobo Weston: The number of Crocs are getting totally out of hand.

Jay Falk: Bobo Weston just don’t swim where they swim.....

Daniel Simmonds: Was actually our surveyor in common, was actually close to 4m, we been watching him swim around us.

Brayden Booni: Retract everything I said about buying a boat

Paul Shailer: Brad Heel, I often think of this mate I think it’s been about 5 years since you seen that one when I was swimming around the corner from you fishing. We only see what’s on top of the water.

Kade Gaffney: Crocodile in water is about as dangerous as a shark on land

Chrissy Fenech: Our kids jump in willy-nilly but then again I swear they are part reptile some days.

The Department of Environment and Science says there have been seven crocodile sighting in Mackay in the past 30 days and four in the Whitsundays.

Townsville had the most sightings with 23.

Back January, a Bucasia trio had a close encounter with a crocodile while on the way to the IGA supermarket.

They initially thought it was a log in the middle of the road until they saw it run off into the grass.

They snapped a 12-second video of the sighting which was just around the corner from their house.

It comes after another unusual marine sighting in our region when an 18-month-old sperm whale became stranded alive in Sinclair Bay at Cape Gloucester on June 15 but unfortunately then passed away overnight.

A few days later, the whale carcass washed up on a beach directly in front of private residences and Queensland National Parks rangers had to relocate the 50-tonne create to “a more suitable burial location close to the initial stranding site”.

A sperm whale was found stranded in a remote bay in the Whitsundays on June 15. The 18m male whale was originally stranded alive in Sinclair Bay at Cape Gloucester but unfortunately passed away. Picture: Contributed

“The whale was buried, rather than removed from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, for environmental, cultural, safety and logistical reasons,” a Facebook post from the service said.

“This significant feat wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the local landowners, Whitsunday Regional Council and the local earth-moving contractor.”

Reef Joint Field Management Program Senior Conservation Officer (Marine Strandings Coordinator) Natalie Sands said this incident was a rare occurrence in Whitsundays.

“Sperm whales usually inhabit deeper offshore waters,” she said.

“We do sometimes see sperm whales in Queensland waters including the Great Barrier Reef, but for one to live strand on the inshore coast is unusual.

“Over the past 10 years, we have seen seven sperm whale strandings in Queensland.

“This case is the first live animal we’ve seen strand since 2001.

“It is unknown why the whale stranded itself. We’ve collected skin samples to further our understanding of sperm whales.”

If you find stranded, sick, injured or deceased marine wildlife, please call the Department of Environment and Science on 1300 130 372.

Take note of things like time of sighting, location, type of animal and size, and please always try to take photos of the animal to send to our Rangers to assist them in their response.’