Wildlife officers reveal reason crocodile was spotted on a Sunshine Coast beach

Wildlife officers have revealed the reason a crocodile was spotted on a Sunshine Coast beach, hundreds of kilometres south of its usual habitat.

Wild weather is the likely reason a crocodile was spotted on a Sunshine Coast beach hundreds of kilometres south of its usual habitat.

A ranger spotted the two-metre reptile in front of the Sarawak camping ground at Inskip Point near Rainbow Beach, about 100km north of Noosa, and watched it flee into the ocean on Monday.

The ranger took photos of the tracks and claw marks the croc left behind in the sand with its body and sliding tail.

A Sunshine Coast ranger photographed the imprint of a crocodile’s body in the sand of a Sunshine Coast beach after he spotted it fleeing into the water at Inskip Point.

Last month, people strolling along a beach near Bundaberg filmed a crocodile 150km south of the animal’s usual habitat on the Queensland coast last month.

In November, a member of the public reported seeing a 3m crocodile in the Burnett River, barely five kilometres downstream from the Bundaberg city centre. A four-day, 14km search failed to find that animal.

Authorities believe the crocodile spotted at Inskip Point was the same animal as the one videoed at Coonaar Beach near Bundaberg.

The latest sighting takes the reptile about 380km south of “croc country,” which normally falls at Boyne River near Gladstone.

A crocodile spotted near a camping ground at Rainbow Beach, Inskip is believed to be the same animal that was spotted at Bundaberg last month.

Wildlife officer Joshua Morris said the big wet weather event in northern Queensland likely pushed the crocodile south.

“The prevailing weather conditions might mean that ocean currents have pushed it out,” he told the ABC.

“It may have moved to different areas and just gotten a little bit lost and travelled a little bit further than it wanted to.”

Mr Morris said it was likely the crocodile was resting on beaches trying to get out of rough surf while transiting.

“We believe the crocodile might head back north to its habitat when weather conditions improve, but if it stays in the southeast Queensland region, it will be removed from the wild,” he said.

A fisherman who saw the creature initially thought it was a stick before its snout then tail popped out of brackish water.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s not a stick. That’s a croc,” Anthony Simpson told the ABC.

“He was just minding his own business, trying to catch a feed, probably.

“I kept on fishing, just was a bit more on my toes, got my stuff a bit back from the water.”

Rangers warned campers around Inskip Point and signs were erected telling people to be vigilant around the water and to keep a barrier while fishing.

Wildlife officers erected signs around camping grounds at Inskip Point after a crocodile was spotted at the beach.

Wildlife officers have been conducting ground patrols, vessel-based searches and using drones to located the animal along the coastline.

“We are asking people in the Rainbow Beach region, including boaties, to make a sighting report if they see what they believe to be a crocodile,” Mr Morris said.

“Each sighting report is important and provides us with information about the location and behaviour of crocodiles.

“Under the Queensland Crocodile Management Plan, Rainbow Beach is atypical crocodile habitat, and we will target this crocodile for removal from the wild if it is located.

“We can reassure the public that this crocodile is considered to be a vagrant animal that has moved into the area from up north, and this sighting does not mean the crocodile population is extending south.”

Crocodile sightings can be reported on the QWildlife app, the department’s website, or by calling 1300 130 372.

Originally published as Wildlife officers reveal reason crocodile was spotted on a Sunshine Coast beach