Cape York croc, 20km from land devours arctic sea bird at Pelican Island

A Cape York encounter between a migratory shore bird and a estuarine crocodile has been captured in a rare video revealing the unforgiving nature of the wild. See the video:

A Cape York encounter between a migratory shore bird and an estuarine crocodile has been captured in a rare video revealing the unforgiving nature of the wild.

Rangers conducting bird surveys at Pelican Island in Princess Charlotte Bay have recorded on video an ambush attack of a pomarine jaeger.

And it doesn’t end well for the seabird, who would have arrived in the topics from the tundra of North America after a 10,000km flight.

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation senior Ranger Lee Hess said he had completed a lap of the Pelican Island to record bird species when he saw a small crocodile in the shallows.

A saltwater croc has been caught on video stalking and capturing a pomarine jaeger at Pelican Island, 15 km off the coast of the remote Cape York Peninsula. Picture: DES

“We were lucky enough to take photos and videos of the crocodile as it crawled from the ocean, but what we didn’t know is it set its sights on the bird,” Mr Hess said.

“Pomarine jaegers are an Arctic, migratory bird and while it is not uncommon to see them in Australian waters or on coastal islands, there aren’t many recorded sightings on Great Barrier Reef islands.

“The pomarine jaeger was the only one of its species on the island, and I’m not sure if it had ever seen a crocodile before and wasn’t attuned to the danger.

“The bird wasn’t looking at the ocean and the crocodile simply grabbed it then headed back to the water.

“We believe it is the first recorded meeting between an estuarine crocodile and a pomarine jaeger, and unfortunately it was a long way to fly to end up like this.”

A stunned woman in the video can be heard crying out in surprise as the small saltie begins to devour the bird.

“Oh my god, that poor bird,” she said.

Pelican Island, being at least 20km from the nearest land, is clear evidence of croc mobility and comfortability at taking on lengthy ocean swims.

Lama Lama Rangers operations manager Gavin Bassani felt for the devoured bird after flying such a long way to arrive at the Cape.

The small croc leaps from the shallows to catch the bird. Picture: DES

“It’s a shame this one travelled so far only to succumb to the dangers of Cape York,” he said.

“I guess coming from the Arctic region, crocodiles are not their usual threat.”

Crocodiles can be highly mobile, particularly during the warmer months and can be found on Great Barrier Reef islands where they feed on migratory birds and other marine wildlife.

DESI leveraged a warning from the latest croc encounter to remind people to be Crocwise in Croc Country.

The department stated people are responsible for their own safety and should make sensible choices around the water.

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Originally published as Cape York croc, 20km from land devours arctic sea bird at Pelican Island