crocodilians

It seems some angry crocodiles still hanging in the area. Story below: Aggressive 4.2m croc trapped in north Qld An aggressive 4.2-meter-long crocodile has been trapped at a popular fishing spot in north Queensland. Rangers have trapped a 4.2-meter crocodile spotted chasing another croc at a popular fishing spot in north Queensland. The huge reptile was one of two male crocodiles seen chasing a female crocodile near a boat ramp on a river south of Townsville. Rangers laid floating traps in the Haughton River last week and managed to catch the big croc on Tuesday. It will be relocated to a farm or zoo. State Environment Minister Andrew Powell urged boaties to take extreme caution or avoid the area until the other crocs have been trapped. "These are very large crocodiles and they are showing very aggressive behavior," he told reporters on Wednesday. Recently a Port Douglas canoe club, north of Cairns, relocated its headquarters from a croc-infested waterway to a nearby beach. The reptiles considered a threat to people in Townsville, Hinchinbrook, along the Cassowary Coast, and in the Cairns region are relocated. Under the state government's croc removal scheme 56 crocs have been trapped and relocated since early 2013. One of the biggest was a 4.5m croc caught in the Herbert River near Ingham in August last year. Concerns have been raised that the scheme doesn't work because other crocs may take over an area once one is removed. Source: www.sbs.com.au/news/article/aggressive-4-2m-croc-trapped-...

It's funny... as an Aussie, I've never really thought of crocodiles as predators! That makes no sense, obviously... I mean, LOOK AT IT!

Big Ben laid at a truly frightening 22 feet and 6 inches (6.8 meters) and ruled Alligator Creek in Yaamba nearly 150 years ago.

While his age is unknown, he was a figure of legend amongst the area's indigenous people who claimed he was a man-eater.

Big Ben was more than a normal crocodile, described at the time as the last of his species, notable for having a different, more vicious jaw structure than a normal croc.

His front teeth in the lower jaw fitted into holes in his upper jaw creating an unescapable lock for whatever poor creature he bit.

In 1872, a hunter named Goldino Columbo shot Big Ben in the head while out on the river but was unable to finish the job or capture him.

The monstrous reptile's body was later found washed up on the shore by none other than John William Wilson.

Rocky locals will know Wilson as the architect responsible for designing 200 buildings in the region including the Heritage Hotel and the Queensland National Hotel in Mount Morgan.

Big Ben's appearance was so frightful Wilson didn't dare get close, and only returned several days later to find him truly dead.

When he was brought back to town and had his guts opened they found 101 kilograms of quartz, a collection of human bones, and two other smaller crocodiles.

Big Ben's body was stuffed and paraded around Queensland and New South Wales with a collection of other, albeit smaller, crocodiles, also killed by Columbo a few months later.

It's clear that CQ has never had a shortage of overgrown reptiles, not 100 years ago, and not today.

Source:
www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rockhampton/meet-b...

I supplied that information to the Morning Bulletin Rockhampton, which i uncovered 16 yrs ago...i have alot more info on Big Ben..including a photo on the taxidermy table with the skull & bones of two humans beside him...the backbone of a bulloch, and numerous large stones, all removed from his belly.

www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rockhampton/the-de...

I am not sure if the following story is related to the photo, yet it seems interesting: A tale about a monster crocodile, that would be the biggest in history is true, claims a pensioner whose late father told him stories of seeing the beast. Doubt has long surrounded claims a 9.7-metre croc - a world record - was shot dead as it lay on the banks of a river at Mackay, in north Queensland, in the 1880s. But Greg Ellul claims his late father Joe told him stories of paying sixpence to go with his grandfather to see the dead croc's skin hanging in a pub in the 1920s or 1930s. According to reports, the reptile was shot with a high-powered rifle from the balcony of the Leichardt Hotel, which overlooked the Pioneer River. Mr Ellul, who is now 70, says his father would often recall going to view the massive skin stretched across the pub. 'Grandad took Pop to see it one day and it cost them a sixpence,' Mr Elull told Daily Mail Australia. 'He said it was 33ft and when they went into the pub the skin was right across a wall and the tail stretched onto another wall. 'His father took him to go and see it and he used to tell me it was shot in the Pioneer River on a sandbar at low tide from the Leichardt Hotel.' A black and white photo of a massive beast lying dead on the banks of the river with rope around its mouth resurfaced earlier this year. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5173771/Monster-crocodil...