Disbelief as people play, swim in river just metres from crocodile: 'Absolute stupidity'

Yahoo

29-03-2025

Beachgoers in the Northern Territory have been blasted as 'stupid' and 'idiotic' for their actions in the water just metres away from a curious crocodile.
Children were spotted along the shoreline at Buffalo Creek, while fishermen waded 20m into the shallows to cast their nets. And while the area is well-signposted about the dangers of crocodiles, one expert told Yahoo News that it's not rocket science when it comes to the dangers of the Territory's waterways.
'Everywhere here is very well signed and also, it's the bloody Territory, it's not a mystery as to what lives in 99 per cent of the waterways,' croc expert Tommy Hayes said, describing the scenes as "absolute stupidity and complacency'.
Local Darwin man Sam Warner was fishing in Shoal Bay when he spotted the croc on his return to the boat ramp.
'We initially drove past it but then circled back to take a look. The croc was not scared by the boat at all and stayed on the surface when usually crocs will disappear if you get too close,' he said.
While the crocodile lingered on the surface on one side of the channel, on the other side of the bank were children playing at the water's edge and the fishermen in waist-deep water.
'Very dangerous behaviour in croc territory,' Sam said. He believes it's an accident waiting to happen.
'It's a known fact that crocs can be in any body of water in Darwin but particularly the rivers. People just don't seem to care and it's a shame because it will result in someone getting attacked one day and they will hunt the croc and blame it for doing its natural thing in its natural habitat instead of blaming the idiot that was doing something they shouldn't be doing in croc infested waters,' he said.
Sam and his friends on the boat tried to alert the people on the bank but they were too far away to yell and the water was too shallow for the boat to approach the shore.
'We told people when we beached the boat next to the boat ramp. They seemed more interested in spotting the croc then getting away from the waters edge,' he said.
The Northern Territory Government says people should never enter the water unless there are designated safe swimming signs.
"It should be assumed that any water body in the saltwater crocodile's natural range in the NT is unsafe to swim, unless signposted otherwise," they state on their website.
"Most fatal crocodile attacks in the NT in the past 20 years have occurred when people have entered the water outside of designated swimming areas."
Last year there were seven crocodile attacks in Australia, with four of those in the Northern Territory. The region's only fatal attack happened on July 2, when a 12-year-old girl was taken while swimming at Mango Creek near the remote town of Palumpa.
Two other fatalities occurred in Queensland last year – in Torres Strait waters in April and near Cooktown in August.
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