Cape Tribulation, November 2006 24 year old Belgian tourist Stefaan Van Turnhout, now world famous as Stupid Stefaan, was on holidays in Cape Tribulation and went for a walk on Myall Beach. At the north end of the beach he arrived at Mason Creek where 2 metre long saltwater crocodile Allan lives, well known with the locals. There were plenty of warning signs at the creek to make people aware of the presence of the croc but SS decided that he was going to get a great photo and waded into the creek, camera in one hand, and in the other hand a stick that he hit the water surface with, to try to attract the crocodile closer. This tempting technique proved extremely successful, and the crocodile came closer very quick, and very close. While a group of about six others watched the crocodile lunged forward and bit SS on the left knee. One person in the crowd that witnessed the attack ran to the Cape Trib pharmacy and raised the alarm, prompting Dr.Kelly Lash to phone the ambulance. When the injured Belgian finally made his way in to the pharmacy it became clear that the bite was not all that serious, though the whole ambulance and police circus still made their way up to Cape Tribulation, a 1.5 hour trip from the nearest town Mossman. Cape Tribulation locals are pissed off with the stupid behaviour of the Belgian that invaded the crocs territory and annoyed it with slapping the stick on the water, as now Queensland Park and Wildlife officers will catch their local croc Allan and sell him to a crocodile farm where eventually he will be killed. The girlfriend of the Belgian master of disaster thought it quite funny as he had already been bitten by a monkey earlier on in his travels. Crocodile Belgee himself forgot the click the shutter on his camera when it all happened too quick so he never even got his close up photo. Lakefield, near Cooktown, Qld, 16 August 2005 60 year old Barry Jefferies and his missus Glenda were on a camping holiday in Lakefield National Park and decided to go and do some fishing in their canoe in Midway Waterhole on the Normanby River. Around dusk Barry hooked a fish but as he dragged it in a 400kg croc tried to get it. Barry saw the croc approach and tried to fend it off with his paddle but the monster lunged at him, clamped its massive jaws around his arm and dragged him into the water. The canoe overturned and Barrys missus ended up in the water too but swam to the shore, got in the car and drove 20 minutes to the ranger station to raise the alarm. Despite intensive searching with boats and helicopters Barrys body was not found but the croc was located late afternoon the next day and shot dead. However, no human remains were found in this croc so it remains to be seen if rangers shot the right croc. Some torn clothing was found several hundred meters from their campsite. Rangers and tour operators reckoned it had been foolish to venture out on the crocodile infested waters in such a small craft, and the area had numerous signposts with warnings. C:\Users\``\Pictures\The crocodile above was responsible for killing 2 schoolgirls at Pindi Pindi, Queensland in 1933. They disappeared after going to school on horseback.htm Bathurst Bay, North Queensland, October 2004 A group of three Brisbane families were on their annual 4WD camping holiday to far north Queensland where every year for the past five years they had camped at Bathurst Bay, about 250 km. north of Cooktown. Diane and Andrew Kerr and their three month old baby were sleeping in their tent on the beach when they were woken up by a noise, Diane looked through the netting of the tent and said; theres a croc! As Andrew rose the 4.2 metre crocodile lunged forward, grabbed him by the legs and started dragging him away. His concern was still with the baby that slept in the tent with them and while he was in the crocodiles jaws he kept yelling GET THE BABY! GET THE BABY! His wife grabbed the cot with the baby in one hand and held on to her husbands hand with the other but the 300 kg. crocodile continued to drag him outside the tent. 60 year old grandmother Alicia Sorohan and her husband Bill were camping nearby and when they heard the screams they rushed over to find their friend Andrew being dragged towards the sea. The super granny then leaped on the crocodiles head, causing him to let go of Andrew but now the crocodile turned on her, grabbing her by the arm. Fortunately Alicias son Jason had now appeared on the scene who had a gun and he shot the crocodile through the head. They then set off a rescue beacon that alerted Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service rangers in the area who sent a helicopter to evacuate them to an airport from where the Royal Flying Doctors could fly them to Cairns hospital. Andrew had injuries to his legs and body and was believed to be in a serious condition, while Alicia had injuries to her arm and upper body and face. The male crocodile was estimated to be about fifty years old. Supergranny Alicia was later awarded a bravery medal at a ceremony in Cairns that was also attended by croc crazy Steve Irwin. He also received Alicia as a guest of honour at his Australia Zoo. Cairns, North Queensland, 1994 A group of tourists watching a crocodile feeding show at the Johnstone River Crocodile Farm got more than they bargained for when the 4.1 metre croc grabbed its handler by the arm, dragged him into the pond and did the infamous death roll, resulting in the death of the man who had been working at the farm several years. Cairns, North Queensland, 1997 35 year old man Ron Bakx was swimming at night at Yorkeys Beach in the north of Cairns when he was attacked by a crocodile that gave him some deep puncture wounds to the head, back and shoulder. He did not actually see the croc but was extremely lucky to survive the attack. He admitted later that a midnight swim was not a smart idea and it was his own fault for invading the crocs territory. Cairns, North Queensland, December 2004 Drew Ramsden, 18, was enjoying a few drinks with friends when he went to the edge of the Barron River at about 10.30pm to wash his face and had his head underwater while his mates, who saw the 2.5 metre reptile approaching, were yelling out CROC!, CROC! They also threw rocks and beer cans in an attempt to make the croc stop. As Drew lifted his head out the water he heard CROC! and at the same instant felt the whack of the crocs jaws hitting his head. The croc was unable to get a good grip on his head and he managed to scramble up the riverbank, with only some punctures and teeth marks on his head and chin that were fixed with a few stitches. The river where this happened is separated by only 1 km of rapids from Lake Placid, a very popular swimming spot for the Cairns locals but the place was deserted after this event. Cairns, North Queensland, 1998 A 15 year old Aboriginal girl at a beer party close to the Cairns city centre went for a swim in Chinaman Creek where she was mauled by a 3metre crocodile that grabbed her leg and dragged her around for several minutes. She managed to get hold of an overhead mangrove branch and screamed for help, two young men came to the rescue and in a tug of war managed to get her out of the crocodiles jaws. Cairns, North Queensland, 1893 From Cairns Post, 21 January, 1893; On Tuesday evening last a terrible fate befell James Mason, aged 10 years. The father, Mr J E Mason of Stratford and his two bright healthy sons were bathing in the Barron River. They were in about 2 feet six of water. The sandy muddy spot was their favourite spot. They thought they were safe from crocs in the shallow water. Suddenly came a splash. The mud was stirred up and the water lashed. The fathers surprise turned to horror. He could not see his eldest boy, Jimmy. He threw the other child on the bank and dived where he had seen the splash. He found the boy and grasped his legs. Something more powerful was pulling the boy away. Then the father realised that a croc had taken his boy from his very side. A few minutes later the croc rose to breathe in the middle of the river. In those fearful jaws was one leg of the unfortunate child. Cape Flattery, near Cooktown Marine biologist Tony Avril was scuba diving on some reefs near Cape Flattery in north Queensland when he suddenly felt something grab hold of his foot and tug it. At first he thought it may have been a groper but when the creature pushed forwards he could see a large crocodile head through the murky water. When they broke the surface during the struggle Tony called out to his wife Avril to start the engine of the boat in the hope that the noise would scare the crocodile. As the crocodile moved around and tried to get a better grip on Tonys diving flipper and foot, he started bashing the crocodiles head with a metal object and tried to gauge his eyes, but the big monster drew his eyes deep inside his sockets. Then the croc tried its favourite trick; the deathroll, but as a biologist Tony recognized this tactic and just grabbed on to the crocodiles body and kept rolling with him. When the croc started swimming away Tony, who had no intention of going too far from his boat, managed to get hold of the crocodiles legs, and got them in a firm grip. By now the crocodile decided that this dinner was just too much hard work and he let go of Tonys foot and swam off. Avril had been following the trail of bubbles and had manoeuvred the boat right above him so he managed to get on board pretty quick, one other diver that was with them and had missed the whole scenario was also quickly retrieved. Although the thick rubber of the flipper had protected Tonys foot to some extent from the crocs teeth the sheer pressure of the crocs jaws had crushed a lot of small bones in his foot, and after being released from hospital a week later it took nearly another year for the foot to fully recover. Cape York Peninsula, April 2005 Good Friday turned out to be not such a Good Friday for 37 year old Pom Jason Lewis. He was on a round the world trip, not the usual tourist way but all by human powered transport. He had already capsized in the Atlantic when he was hit by a whale, broken both legs in the US when he got run over by a car, but high up Cape York Peninsula paddling from Lizard Island to the mainland he also came under attack of a large crocodile. The attack happened late afternoon, when he approached the sand bank where he had planned to rest for the night. Two large crocs slipped of the bank and into the water when they spotted him, and started moving around. After a while one suddenly started following him, and gained rapidly. Jason paddled as fast as he could with the croc only metres behind him when he hit the beach. He ran up the beach but the croc kept hanging around his kayak, which was a bit inconvenient for Jason as all his gear, including his satellite phone, were in there. Using his paddle he tried to scare the croc off but this only resulted in a destroyed paddle. He then spent a night camping on the beach with the croc patrolling and in the morning he managed to get his satellite phone and called in a sea plane to evacuate him. At least he survived with a good story to tell, which not everyone on this page can say. Cape York Peninsula, April 2004 In April 2004 11 year old girl Hannah Thompson went for a swim near the top of Cape York Peninsula at Margaret Bay when she was attacked by a 3.3 metre long crocodile. The animal grabbed her by the arm but luckily a small boat with long time crocodile hunter Ray Turner was next to them and, like a real life Crocodile Dundee, the 57 year old man dived on to the back of the crocodile and gouged the reptile in its left eye. This prompted the croc to let go of the girl but he kept circling the boat after the attack. Ray then delivered the girl and the rest of the group to Haggerstone Island from where she was airlifted to Thursday Island Hospital with deep puncture wounds in her lower arm. Hannah lost her watch in the attack but was recovering well in hospital. Ex-Prime Minister Bob Hawke rang the island to advise them to not tell the story for free but to negotiate a lucrative deal with the highest bidder. Cape York Peninsula American schoolboy John Conway was on holidays in Australia and went camping in the remote wilderness of the Cape York Peninsula where 30% of Australia’s salt water crocodiles are found. One of the local wildlife rangers offered to take the group out in a boat at night to observe crocodiles close-up. Intending to give them a really good look, the ranger jumped out of the boat and caught the croc with his bare hands. He struggled for a bit, then got a good grip and holding it tightly, brought it ashore. Then the ranger offered John to hold the croc, John accepted but his grip on the animal slipped and it turned and attacked him. John remembers it took 5 minutes to get the croc off of him with the ranger yelling at him to be careful, because the crocodile’s teeth might be damaged! Cooktown, November 2002 Two men in an aluminium fishing boat (tinnie) were several kilometres off shore fishing on the reef when suddenly a large 5 metre crocodile started attacking their boat and managed to punch a few good holes into the metal. The men started their boat and motored back to shore, having to bail water for most the way that was pouring in through the holes that the croc punched. Ferry across the Daintree River One December night in 1985 several people, including Beryl Wruck, 40, were at a party on the banks of Stewart Creek, a tributary to the Daintree River, north of Cairns, Queensland. They were all locals and well aware of the number and size of local crocodiles but still decided to wade into the water a bit to cool down in the tropical night, perhaps not aware that the net that normally protects the site had been taken away for repairs. When interviewed later the men said there was a huge splash and the woman was gone. Relatives, police and local SES searched the river for over a week without success. Also some rednecks cruised up and down the river shooting any croc in sight over the next few weeks. While they might have made some impact then there is now certainly no shortage of crocs in this river as you can see on one of the many crocodile spotting trips that now operate on this river. The crocodile, locally known as Kodak, was later captured. Daintree River, February 2009 On 9 February 2009 tragedy struck again on the Daintree river, when five year old Jeremy Doble was taken in shallow water outside his riverside home. Rangers searched the river for days and trapped several crocs until they found the boys remains in a 4.3 metre croc. The boys parents who own the Daintree River Train that takes tourists on croc spotting tours, requested that the animal would not be killed but taken to a crocodile farm or zoo. Daintree River, November 2009 Tour boat Solar Whisper was happily doing its usual cruise on the Daintree River and came across the spectacle of two fighting crocs, locally known as Fat Albert and Scarface. However, they got more excitement than planned when Fat Albert diverted his attention from Scarface and turned on the boat. The huge five metre crocodile lunged nearly a metre out of the water and bit the railing of the small tour boat, passengers were able to get out of the way but his teeth left some bite marks in the metal of the boat. David White of Solar Whisper showing the damage The crocodile left a good dent in the railing of the Solar Whisper Solar Whisper owner David White said the unprecedented attack was a bit frightening, but after passengers had calmed down a bit they had told him it had been the highlight of their holiday. The attack was out of character for a crocodile and no boats have been bitten again since then. Only days before a tourist had managed to fall overboard from another boat in the same area but was quickly plucked from the river before any croc could choose him for dinner..... Daintree River, November 2011 Elmo Eight year old dog Elmo, a Jack Russell cross, was happily running around on the banks of the Daintree River as he usually does on Friday 11 November 2011. He had been doing this for years but this day his luck ran out. A crocodile, which must have been watching him for a while, burst out of the water of the Daintree river and ate him, filmed by a tourist who happened to spot it from his tour boat. His owner Dean Clapp, who owns the Daintree Express river tours, was working nearby and noticed his beloved pet missing, but only learned what happened later through a phone call. Port Douglas, North Queensland, October 2001 Eight year old Aussie girl Taleesha Fagatilli was playing in shallow water at Port Douglas Four Mile Beach when a salt water crocodile latched on to her and dragged her into deeper water. For unknown reasons the crocodile let go and she swam back to shore and was taken to hospital to treat bites to leg, chest and arm. This attack was highly unusual as crocs do not normally attack in the ocean. Port Douglas, North Queensland, June 2004 Early June a dog was taken by a three metre saltwater crocodile in a lake in Reef Park, a suburb of Port Douglas in North Queensland. Residents say the croc has lived in their suburb for years but is now growing to a size that he might change his diet from dogs to children, the local primary school is warning their students to stay away from the lake. In April 2009 a resident of Lake Estate was walking her dog and found a three metre crocodile parading up and down the lake with a smaller one in its jaws, in the middle of town these two crocodiles had gotten in to a territorial dispute and the bigger one of the two had ripped the head off the smaller rival. Rangers set traps to try and catch the croc to relocate it as it was thought to be too dangerous to leave the croc there in the middle of town where children could be playing near the lake. Weipa, North Queensland 32-years old Peter Reimers was killed by a crocodile at Weipa in North-Queens land in a characteristic encounter. Close to the bank tracks were found of a large crocodile that was lying there and probably slid into the water silently as soon as it heard the man approaching. As soon as Reimers waded through the water he was seized and killed by the crocodile. Weipa, September 2005 When fishermen on the Mission Rover, just north of Weipa, caught a 1.2 metre bull shark they decided to throw it back. But it was not the sharks lucky day as a 3.5 metre croc burst out of the muddy water and had him for dinner. The fishermen managed to get some good photos of it too. Weipa, February 2011 37 Year old Weipa miner Eddie Sigai and his family were swimming at a waterhole in Beening Creek near Weipa in north Queensland and having a great time for about three hours when things suddenly changed. A three metre crocodile suddenly brushed past his daughters, came out of the water and attacked Eddie latching on to his left hand. In a flash he remembered a documentary he had seen once where a man survived a crocodile attack by gouging the eyes of the animal, so he started punching, kicking, grabbing and shaking the animal while trying to get his fingers in the crocodiles eyes. 12 Year old daughter Monica later said she had felt helpless and completely terrified when she felt the crocodiles tail brush past her while it was on its way to attack her father and 17 year old Jennifer had also felt the croc brush past and actually put her hands on its back. The crocodile might have wanted to defend its territory as it could have more easily taken one of the girls in the water but it came out to attack the father, who had been swimming in this place for most of his life without a problem. Eddie said too he thought he was gone at one point but that the safety of his children gave him the strength to fight the croc. When the croc let him go he yelled at his daughters to get out of the water and threw the youngest one on the bank. With his injuries he was unable to drive so Jennifer took the wheel and drove to Weipa Hospital to deliver her father who was bleeding badly. He spent a few days there and survived to tell the tale with scratch marks on his back and bite marks on his hand. Weipa, Marchi 2011 Weipa fisherman Todd Bairstow who works at the Rio Tinto bauxite mine in Weipa was fishing at his favourite fishing spot. The fishing spot is on Trunding Creek near the Albatross Hotel and is locally known as Jurassic Park, and indeed did he meet a creature from the dinosaur age.... While he was fishing from the banks of the creek suddenly a huge four metre crocodile burst out of the water and got a good hold of him. The croc tried to drag him underwater to kill him with the death roll but Todd held on to the mangroves and did not want to let go. He spent 15 minutes clinging on to the mangroves, punching the croc, and calling for help, and when locals finally heard his calls they came to his aid, whacked the croc with a tree branch and dragged him to safety. The Royal Flying Doctors then flew him to the hospital in Cairns by the Royal Flying Doctor Service a broken leg, dislocated joints and various lacerations and cuts. Sweetheart One of the most famous crocodiles in Australias history is Sweetheart. Between September 1978 and July 1979 there was a string of attacks on small aluminium fishing boats in the Finniss River, Northern Territory when a 5.1 metre male crocodile got into the ( for crocs unusual) habit of biting outboard motors and attacking and overturning boats. He never actually killed anyone but still the The N.T.Parks and Wildlife Commission took action and caught him in july 1979 but the croc died soon after, it is common for crocs that in trying to evade capture they exhaust themselves to the point where they do not recover. His body has been preserved and can now be seen at the Northern Territory Museum and Art Galleries of the N.T. in Fannie Bay, Darwin. Normanton 1958 Legend has it that in the Normanton River, several kilometres from the town of Normanton, NW Queensland, there was a ginormous croc. Krystina Pawloski, a woman of small build but handy with the gun, shot a crocodile measuring around nine metres in the Norman River in July 1958. There is an awesome replica in the main street of Normanton which the locals swear is true to size, reportedly the actual skin was used for this statue as a mould to make sure of correct size and proportions, the skin is still kept in Townsville, north Queensland.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 01:24:46 +0000
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