3 days ago
Incredible photo shows hidden danger as Aussie travellers head north to escape winter
Tourists heading north to escape the cold this winter are warned to watch their step. An incredible photo by local fisherman and birdwatcher Rodney Fischer shows a crocodile almost completely camouflaged in a pool of mud.
The image was snapped this week in Wyndham, the northernmost town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It shows a crocodile in a state of brumation, which involves slowing down activity and metabolism.
When animals like bears, squirrels or mice hibernate, they enter a deep sleep, but when it comes to brumation in Australian reptiles, they remain semi-alert.
'You wouldn't want to step on one. If you did, it would move for sure,' Fischer told Yahoo News Australia.
'Usually crocodiles are sitting out in the bank basking, but it's good to let the public know that they can be hidden in the mud. It's good to be careful around the waterways and even dry creek beds, and they could be anywhere.'
Can you spot the crocodile's eye in the photo?
Fischer had been birdwatching when he spotted the crocodile hanging out in a dry billabong, waiting for the rains to restore the surrounding creek.
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At first glance, the four-metre-long animal looks like a log with few discernible features. But if you look to the left of the leaf in the centre of the image, you might be able to spot his half-open eye.
'He might sit there for weeks and weeks, or even months. They just lay there, close their eyes, and think do not disturb me,' he said.
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