Hard snappy truth: Northern Territory crocs are superior to Queensland beasts

Queensland is riding on a dying legacy of having bigger and better crocs than the NT. The truth is, they have the Territory to thank and here’s why.

Queensland has the Territory to thank for its monster crocs, with breeding and captivity programs resulting in beloved NT salties being rehomed to the east coast.

A recent story in the Townsville Bulletin slighted Territory crocs by boasting Queensland’s reptiles were “bigger and better” than the ones in the NT.

And while imposing beasts can be found in sunny Queensland, many of their origins can be traced back to the Northern Territory.

For example, Queensland’s oldest living crocodile in captivity, Cassius, was a Territory menace before being rehomed to Green Island off the coast of Cairns in 1987.

Last year Townsville’s Billabong Sanctuary reptile handler Damien Randall told media the croc park hadn’t welcomed a local saltie for more than five years.

Townsville’s pride and joy, Jupiter, is a measly 4.3m saltie who would not have survived in the wild without human intervention.

It took more than a year of vet care for the animal to regain his weight and teeth.

The crocodile population has exploded from 3000 to 100,000 in the last 50 years across the Top End, research shows.

“The population of estuarine crocodiles in the Northern Territory is three to four times larger, three times more abundant and has a 10 times higher biomass per kilometre than in Queensland,” Queensland’s Estuarine Crocodile Monitoring Program report concedes.

Far North Queensland might be the true home of the cane toad but the state’s claim to croc fame is off the mark.

Krys was the largest croc caught on record measuring 8.63m, but it was shot by Christine Pawlowski in the Norman River – in 1957.

More than 60 years on, while Queenslanders continue to ride on the glory of the past, the Top End keeps producing mammoth crocs and will likely put Krys’ 8.63m to shame as breeding flourishes.

In Matt Wright's Top End Safari Camp a croc enjoys its dinner. Picture: Che Chorley

The Adelaide River, near Darwin, is home to at least two of the world’s biggest crocodiles: Brutus and Dominator.

Dominator is considered the river’s alpha male, measuring 5.7m. He reportedly had an epic tussle with rival Brutus, who is 5.4m.

In September of 2021, wildlife operator Sam Dearly, 60, nearly lost his hand when one of Brutus’ or Dominator’s girlfriends tried to snack on him.

Even Queensland senators have to travel to the Territory to meet a saltie – not so long ago controversial politician Pauline Hanson crossed the border to meet one of our crocodiles and to speak with a local expert on the animal.

Queensland Senator Pauline Hanson previously visited the Top End of Australia to speak with professor Grahame Webb on the topic of crocodile management. Picture: Justin Kennedy