A baby crocodile about to be released after an inspection
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Visitors to Cooktown usually ask "are there any crocodiles in the river?" - and the answer is a most definite 'yes'. Having said this, it would be true to say that the majority of people living in Cooktown have not seen a crocodile in our river. Crocodiles are very sneaky animals, and their hunting methods depend on stealth. The last count of these saurians suggested that there were probably fifty of them in the Endeavour River.

People regularly using the river only see them very occasionally, and mostly around the town area. In the past three years three dogs have been taken while their owners watched - one of these owners got a Bravery Award for jumping on the back of a 2m crocodile and fighting it to rescue his dog.
Luckily, there have not been any humans taken in recent history.

Crocodiles were here when the first white settlers arrived and for a considerable time they were a real danger to people in and near the river. Then skins became valuable and by the the early 60's they were very nearly cleaned out. They are now totally protected unless grown in crocodile farms.
Crocodiles like these were very profitable to hunt in the 50's while skins were highly sought after. Many men lived a wild and dangerous life, not just for the money, it was the high adventure that attracted them.
The photos at the left and right were kindly loaned to us by Mick Pitman.
You can see more of Mick's photos, stories, and crocodile products at :
crocodilemick.com
When a large crocodile gets to feeling comfortable being around humans, the humans usually don't share this warm and cuddly feeling. Complaints are made to the Wildlife Service and they come in and remove the reptile to a safer area, or to a crocodile farm. You can see by the photo at the left that crocodiles come well equipped for battle, and the Wildlife Officers must put their life at risk on our behalf.
One evening, about 20 years ago, this 4.8 m saltwater crocodile took a swimmer from the water's edge at a popular river south of Cooktown. The crocodile was later shot and disposed of.

During March, 2002, an enthusiastic fisherman was checking his crabpots in the Endeavour River. He thought one was particularly heavy and was looking forward to a good catch of succulent mud crabs. What a surprise he got! Luckily,(for him) the 2.2 m crocodile had drowned itself. The photographs below show the croc in the pot, and triumphantly over Gordon's shoulder.
(Both Photographs, courtesy of the Cooktown Local News)
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Not to be outdone, Kevin, another keen fisherman, discovered a 3.5m crocodile floating in the river and went up close for an inspection. The popular theory is that the croc was killed in a fight with another, larger crocodile. Our river is getting fairly lively, isn't it? (Photograph courtesy of the Cooktown Local News).