Freshwater crocodile spotted near Bunnings Fairfield Waters in Townsville

If you’re near Fairfield Waters this weekend, you might catch a glimpse of a small croc catching some rays. See the pictures.

A crocodile photographed in Idalia by Townsville man Matt Palmer on May 10, 2023.

A small freshwater crocodile has been spotted less than 100 metres from suburban Idalia.

Oonoonba man Matt Palmer snapped a picture of the animal apparently basking in the sun on Wednesday, May 10.

He reckoned it was one-and-a-half to 1.8 metres long.

The reptile was relaxing on what appears to be a drainage column in Lake Idalia, about 55m east Lakeside Dr and about 300m north of Bunnings Fairfield Waters.

Mr Palmer got a call from a mate about the croc, grabbed his camera and made use of its zoom lens to get the picture. He had not seen this particular croc before.

The croc was about 300m north of Bunnings Fairfield Waters on Wednesday.

“The bigger ones usually come out in cooler temperatures, but not that close to houses.”

In March this year, a 27-year-old Townsville man was fined $12,000 for taking crocodiles from the Ross River.

The crocodile was about 50 metres from the bridge on Lakeside Drive.

A $4.1m croc safety campaign is expected in the June state budget. That would include developing a device that can reliably detect estuarine crocodiles underwater during the day or night with sonar and artificial intelligence.

Originally published as Freshwater crocodile spotted near Bunnings Fairfield Waters in Townsville