North Stradbroke Island crocodile sighting closes tourist site

One of Australia’s top crocodile experts says a sighting of one of the deadly reptiles at North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane could be the first of many.

View of North Stradbroke Island from Point Lookout

A leading Queensland expert says a rare crocodile sighting on North Stradbroke Island could be the start of the deadly animals venturing further south.

The 3m crocodile was reportedly seen at Myora Springs on Wednesday morning by Straddie Adventures owner Mark Jones during a kayaking tour, with wildlife rangers closing and investigating the popular tourist area.

Mr Jones, a traditional owner of North Stradbroke Island, said he spotted the crocodile while leading a kayak tour with nine customers on Wednesday morning.

“I was sitting there in the kayak where I do a talk … I thought it was a log to start with,” he said.

“It went under … then it came back up, about 10m to 15m away.

“I was spinning.”

Mr Jones said customers on the tour were “just as shocked as me”, noting he'd never seen or heard of a crocodile being spotted on the island.

Myora Springs is on the island’s western side which feeds into Moreton Bay.

The traditional owner said he last spotted the crocodile heading north towards Amity Point when he alerted Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers to the sighting.

“We don’t know if it’s gone into the mangroves or gone out (to Moreton Bay),” he said.

“The rangers are out there now and have it shut down.”

While Queensland’s northern and central areas are known to experience the occasional croc-spotting, it’s unusual for salty swimmers to wander into southern territory.

The most southern croc-sighting was in the Mary River at Gympie, about 160km north of Brisbane four years ago, meaning the Stradbroke Island sighting would be record breaking for South East Queensland.

But University of Queensland crocodile expert Associate Professor Steven Salisbury is unsurprised by the southern sighting and said South East Queenslanders could soon expect a lot more, even in the Brisbane River.

“We’re only a few hundred kilometres south of the current southern range limit of salt water crocs, they are happily around the Gladstone area,” Mr Salisbury said.

“A croc that size is very capable of swimming long distances in the open ocean. We’ve had studies in collaboration with Australia Zoo where they’ve tracked crocs swimming up to 50km a day.

“I’m waiting for the day where we spot a croc sunning itself amongst the mangroves below the (Brisbane) Story Bridge.”

Australians almost hunted crocodiles to extinction but new laws introduced in the 1970s has seen populations reflourish.

Mr Salisbury said as northern croc populations become too dense, individual crocs would begin seeking new territory in warm southern waters.

“Bigger crocs don’t discriminate with little crocs, they’re just as good of a meal, so when they get big enough they have to run the gauntlet and find a place they won’t get ripped apart and eaten,” he said.

“Almost everyone has grown up used to there not being many crocs but with croc populations bouncing back … with climate change and oceans gradually warming, It’s going to change that natural southern limit of salt water crocs.”

A four-metre long estuarine crocodile, also known as a saltwater crocodile or saltie, sunning itself in wetlands near Ingham in the state’s north. Picture: Cameron Bates

Traditional relocation tactics will also not be effective when southern migration takes effect, as crocodiles have been found to easily retrace their steps.

“People will think, oh just catch and relocate it, but crocs are like birds… if you remove one from one area, unless it’s more than thousands of kilometres away, it’s just going to swim back,” Mr Salisbury said.

“We’ve done studies where we’ve captured a croc on one side of Cape York and flown it to the other side. Within a week it swam back to the other side.

“And the flooding is linking up a lot of water courses as well, which is basically like opening up a croc highway.”

The Department of Environment and Science confirmed rangers had received reports of the potential sighting and were investigating.

A drone would be used to conduct an aerial search while rangers searched waters via boat.

If a crocodile was found, it would be removed.

Crocodile warning signs have now been installed at Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) boat ramps, with both residents and visitors urged to stay away from Myora Springs.

“Any crocodile confirmed to be present on Minjerribah, regardless of size, is targeted for removal from the wild,” the DES confirmed in a media statement.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said it was highly unusual for a crocodile to be spotted south of Central Queensland.

“It’s an important reminder to be croc-wise,” she said.

According to DES reporting data, 105 crocodiles were spotted by Queenslanders over the past 30 days, however, none breached waters south of Gladstone.

Cairns had 18 crocodile sightings, followed by Douglas Shire 15, Mackay 13, and Townsville 12.

Recent gnarly attacks and close encounters include young Clinton and Dayne Barker’s random croc sighting while walking to their local Mackay supermarket in January 2022, an unwanted salty visitor at a popular resort in Laguna Quay during August, and when 45kg labrador pup Indie was eaten alive in Cairns in December.

The last reported fatal crocodile attack was recorded on February 12, 2021, at Hinchinbrook Island where police found human remains thought to belong to a missing fisherman.

Crocodile sightings in Southern Queensland in the past decade include on the Sunshine Coast in 2017 and Maryborough in 2012.

Originally published as North Stradbroke Island crocodile sighting closes tourist site