Chilling footage of large crocodile near where man was taken in Far North Queensland

Disturbing footage has emerged of a large crocodile being fed by a fisherman at the spot where a man later slipped and was dragged underwater in front of his family.

Disturbing footage has emerged of a large crocodile being fed by a fisherman at the spot where a man later slipped and was dragged underwater in front of his family.

The video shows a man standing next to a large blue eski with about seven people including a young boy at the top of the embankment at Crocodile Bend, along the Annan River.

Large portions of raw meat and fish are then thrown into the water as the group watch a crocodile surface to snatch the food.

A Cooktown resident previously told the Cairns Post locals had been feeding crocodiles in the area roadkill and other food.

A large crocodile photographed last month at Crocodile Bend who has been know by locals to live in the area. Photo: Le Long

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said it was “highly concerned” by the videos.

The spokesman said feeding crocodiles placed visitors at “much greater risk of attack”.

“It is illegal to feed crocodiles in Queensland, and anyone with information about the deliberate feeding of crocodiles is encouraged to call 1300 130 372 and report the information,” he said.

“Reports can be made anonymously.

“Feeding of crocodiles at riverbanks or boat ramps encourages them to hang around, waiting for their next meal. This can place future visitors to the area at a much greater risk of attack if they approach or enter the water.”

The spokesman said people should never feed crocodiles or give them easy access to food or fish scraps.

“Crocodiles have been around for millions of years, and they can source their own food.

“They have a highly developed sense of smell, allowing them to detect prey or animal carcasses on the land and in the water from long distances.”

In the video, a man says “he’s pretty big” after throwing a piece of meat into the water.

“I can see two there,” a woman replies.

Crocodile is being fed on the water's edge with raw meat, and is believed to be in the same area where a man was taken on the weekend after he fell while fishing. Picture: Supplied.

A child then asks, “Do you feed them every night?” but the man replies “no”.

The video is 1.35 minutes long, and shows the crocodile retrieving the meat and disappearing below the surface of the water.

It returns when more meat is thrown.

“Is that a big one,” the child said.

“I don’t know, it’s big enough,” a woman replied.

About 47 seconds into the video a large portion of meat and fish frames are thrown in all at once, while the child can be heard saying “attack”.

In the footage the group can also be seen standing inches away from the edge of the bank.

“That’s a male and that’s a female,” one person in the group can be heard saying.

“Yeah, he’s got a fish there,” the woman said before the crocodiles swim off and the video ends.

Large amount of raw meat can be seen being thrown into the water to lure the crocodile out. Picture: Supplied.

Video posted to Facebook shows a group of seven people standing close to the water's edge as they feed a large crocodile close to where a man was recently taken. Picture: Supplied.

It comes as the search resumed on Monday for a man feared to be dead, after he was dragged underwater by a crocodile while fishing on the weekend in Far North Queensland.

The man was travelling from New South Wales with his family when they reportedly stopped to fish at a popular watering hole on the Annan River, near Cooktown, about 326 km north of Cairns.

It is understood he slipped and fell down the bank while fishing with his family, about 2pm on Saturday, when he was reportedly dragged underwater by the crocodile.

‘Waiting for a feed’ large crocodile believed to have taken man from waters edge is seen floating along the water's edge at Annan River, near Cooktown north of Cairn.

Melbourne engineer and recreational fisherman, Le Long, visited the same fishing spot last month and spotted a crocodile, which he has estimated was close to 5m long.

In the footage taken by Mr Long, he described the animal’s overwhelming size and guessed the crocodile to be close to 5 metres long.

“I can sort of estimate the length here, he’s about 4.5 to 5 metres long, it’s a big croc, it’s a massive croc,” he said.

He then zooms in to show a close up angle of the crocodile as it floats close to the water's edge.

“Look at that,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to be fishing down there, it’s just death.

“You wouldn’t want to be on that hill, he’d jump up and grab you in no time.”

The footage also shows just along the edge of the river bank, near the head of the crocodile, a bloated dead animal, believed to be roadkill.

A Cooktown resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said there was a well-known crocodile in the Annan River area, who had made that stretch of the river his territory.

The man said a crocodile expert had recently taken drone footage of the reptile at that spot and estimated it to be 4.8m long.

He said the crocodile may have come to associate people with food due to it being fed roadkill upstream from the site.

“People throw roadkill in for it to eat and he could have been sitting there 15ft under the water waiting for a feed,” he said.

“We have had a bit of rain so the bank would be soft and even if he wasn’t near the edge it could have fallen away beneath him.

“It’s just horrendous and everyone is feeling about the family, to watch that happen in front of you is unthinkable.”

Police and rangers have been using drones and watercraft in an attempt to locate the missing man as the search continues.

Originally published as Chilling footage of large crocodile near where man was taken in Far North Queensland