Man stunned after spotting 3m crocodile scaling tree trunk

A seasoned fisherman in the Northern Territory has been left stunned after coming across something he’d never seen before.

A fisherman in Darwin has captured the moment a gigantic 3m crocodile climbed a tree in the country’s north.

Out on a fishing trip on Corroboree Billabong on Monday, Jim Churchley was stunned to see the gigantic reptile scaling the side of a trunk after leaving the water.

Mr Churchley said he sees crocs “all the time” while casting a line but said his latest encounter was particularly incredible.

“I’m on the water all the time and see crocs all the time, but this was just unusual. I’ve never seen one up a tree like that,” he told NT News.

“I’ve seen them on logs that have fallen into the water, but this one has obviously taken the effort to come out of the water and climb up a tree.”

That's one monster of a croc.

Mr Churchley said the crocodile lingered for over five minutes, barely batting an eye as he clung to the tree.

“It was just sitting there, and didn’t seem fussed about me being there,” he said. “As I got closer to get photos, I was expecting it to launch into the water, but it didn’t move. “It was very calm.”

While the new image might put a scare up locals worries about a fresh wave of tree-climbing man-eaters, Crocodile expert at Crocodylus Park Grahame Webb said there wasn’t too much to worry about, confirming saltwater crocs only climb short distances to get more sunlight when the rivers are cooler.

“Salties aren’t really agile climbers. Some other species of crocs are really good climbers, like the New Guinea freshwater crocodile … but salties don’t seem to have that agility,” he said.

“People rarely sight crocs up a tree a fair distance. They’ll usually just crawl out on a log or something. So you don’t have to worry about them dropping out of a tree.”

The sighting comes as human remains have been found inside a crocodile that has been connected to the death of a 69-year-old fisherman on Queensland’s north coast.

Queensland police said the 4.2 metre long animal was examined by a specialist in Cairns, who discovered human remains inside it.

The examination came after Department of Environment and science officers removed the crocodile from a spot near Hinchinbrook Island, halfway between Cairns and Townsville.

The fisherman was last seen on Thursday afternoon. He failed to return from what was supposed to be an hour-long fishing excursion in Gayundah Creek, police were told.

The man’s wife contacted police when he failed to return home and she was unable to contact him via radio.

Early Friday morning, the man’s two-metre long boat was found upside-down.

Police believe those remains are from the missing man, but it has not yet been confirmed by forensic testing.