A crocodile grabs a dog at Napranum.
THE crocodile responsible for grabbing a dog on the Napranum foreshore has been targeted for “hazing” by the state government’s Department of Environment and Science.
DES officers have been working with the Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council and local rangers and arrived in the Cape community late this week.
In a notice on the council’s Facebook page, local residents were warned to expect the sounds of gunshots near the water.
However, the DES officers are not planning on “shooting to kill” the croc. Cape York Weekly understands the croc will be shot at with pellets that won’t do any physical damage but will sting the animal.
The shooting will happen over three nights in order to make the croc associate humans with pain. The Department hopes this will reduce the likelihood of the croc approaching humans on the beach.
Interestingly, almost 30 years ago, state rangers removed a croc from the same location at Napranum.
Queensland rangers remove a crocodile from Napranum in 1994.
This image, shared by Neil Pritchard, shows a government ranger safely removing a croc from the wild.
“When I was teaching at Jessica Point State School at Napranum in 1994 a crocodile was frequently spotted on the beach near the school oval,” Neil said.
“We were worried that a child retrieving a football that had gone over the fence might be attacked. So it was quite a relief when these rangers trapped and relocated the beast.
“I think the dog in the picture did a great job supervising the proceedings.”
The Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council public notice.
