Wildlife officers shoot dead 3.8 metre crocodile lurking around Mackay

An almost four metre long crocodile that had been harassing surfers and fisherman near a busy Queensland tourist spot has been put down.

A huge crocodile has been shot dead in Queensland after it had spent days harassing surfers and fisherman.

The 3.8-metre estuarine crocodile was spotted lurking in and around a creek near Mackay with some locals scrambling to get an away from the animal while a fisherman threw rocks at the creature to deter it.

“On February 9, a member of the public contacted the department to report a large crocodile at a local beach,” Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) senior wildlife officer Jane Burns said.

“He said the crocodile had approached him while he was out surfing and there were a number of people there.

“Some people ended up getting out onto the beach and then others managed to get out up close to the rocks, which was their closest,” Ms Burns told the ABC.

The removal of the 3.8m estuarine crocodile from a creek near Mackay was a reminder for the local community to always be Crocwise around the region’s water bodies. Picture: Qld Government.

After spending time at the creek and beach, the crocodile then headed to a local marina.

Authorities than began a search for the crocodile.

“Wildlife officers conducted night-time spotlight searches around the harbour, Eimeo Creek, and McCreadys Creek before extending their search into Reliance Creek,” Ms Burns said.

The croc was then spotted by a fisherman in Reliance Creek, north of Mackay.

“He felt very uncomfortable with the distance this animal came to him … he threw rocks at this croc to basically get it away.”

Teh croc has been harassing surfers, swimmers and fishermen. Picture: Qld Government.

‘Unacceptable danger’

Ms Burns said the preference is to remove potentially threatening animals from a populated area and rehouse then in zoos or farms. But in this case the crocodile was deemed an “unacceptable danger to the community,” and was put down.

She said the decision to euthanasia was down to a crocodile’s size, the area it was in and its behaviour.

“It was deemed to have dangerous behaviour in what it did days before and we observed that as well out on the water.”

The Mackay region is no stranger to crocodiles but recent wet weather due to Cyclone Gabrielle has seen more rain which may have pushed more towards the coast.

The DES deems much of Mackay as a crocodile “targeted management zone” where if the reptiles are near human activity they are removed if over 2 metres in length or displaying dangerous behaviour.

Officers also located a 2.7 metre crocodile in the same creek but it was deemed to not be a cause of concern to the community.