Massive 350kg croc treks 400km to find his way home
A giant 350kg saltwater crocodile has made an impressive journey back home after being relocated to a secluded location over 400 kilometres away.
It took the croc just 20 days to travel from Cape York in far north Queensland to Wenlock River in the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve.
A team of biologists from the University of Queensland School of Biological Sciences originally relocated three crocodiles in an attempt to track the movements of the animals.
The team, led by Professor Craig Franklin, aimed to find out if relocation is a successful way to manage crocodiles that continuously interact with humans.
Two crocodiles were moved 80kms away with the third carried by helicopter to the most northern point of Queensland.
The 4.5 metre beast shocked the research team when it began to make the long trip back home.
The venture found for the first time that crocodiles use currents to travel long distances
"When we translocated it from the west coast of Cape York to the East Coast, it didn't go straight back home, it waited around for several months," Professor Franklin told The Brisbane Times.
"It was the first time anyone had shown that crocodiles use currents to travel.
"If they are travelling long distances in river systems they will use tidal movement in and out of the river to facilitate their travel."
The crocodile’s ability to find its way home from such a distance also put holes in the theory of re-homing problem crocodiles in far north Queensland.
If an animal is unable to be relocated, the Department of Environment can choose to have the animal destroyed.
Professor Franklin and his team have been tagging crocodiles in a bid to learn more about the behaviour of the reptiles.
He believes education is the best way to help both humans and crocodiles.
"We can inform people how to behave around crocodiles and then how to reduce those negative interactions, which is good for humans and good for crocodiles," he said.
This isn't the first time crocodiles have made headlines. Here's a few jaw-dropping videos you may have missed:
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