Crocodile charges dog and owner in shallow water at Darwin's Rapid Creek beach
A man who was charged by a crocodile in shallow water at a popular Darwin beach says the three-metre long reptile chased him and his dog up onto the beach.
Ivan Waterson, 56, was walking his border collie, named Friday, at Rapid Creek beach in Darwin's suburbs at about 7pm on Sunday night, when the tide was high.
He said the submerged croc swam "pretty quick and straight at us".
"Sure enough you could see the eyes coming at us - it was moving pretty fast," he said.
"I decided to hightail it out of there with the dog."
The crocodile attacked just after sunset and came within 30 metres of Mr Waterson and his dog.
"I throw the rock and my dog jumps in the water, feels around, dives down for the rocks," he said.
"I was walking back towards the bridge and happened to turn and see something. I wasn't sure in the beginning - that's why I stood and watched it coming towards us.
"It looked like a fish on the surface. You don't hear anything, you just see it."
He said the crocodile splashed against the sand where he had been standing, exposed its whole body, then spun around and returned to deeper water.
"It started heading down towards the bridge," he said. "I warned the fishermen and got them out of there.
"People on the other side of the creek were screaming out, 'Get the dog off the beach!'
"Then another woman with a dog come around the corner. We got her off the beach as quick as possible."
'What worries me is the guys fishing'
Mr Waterson said he had been coming to Rapid Creek for 15 years and this was the second time he had been charged by a crocodile.
"There's been probably one or two crocs reported in Rapid Creek area each year," he said.
"What worries me is the guys fishing on the edge of the water.
"Once my daughter saw a crocodile pop up. It swam horizontal to the shore as we walked down the beach.
"We kept an eye on it and didn't worry too much, but further down the beach it decided to make a beeline for us because the dog had come back down to the water.
"Soon as the dog came down to the water started heading for us. A dog is a bit of a delicacy for the crocs."
Another time, he was told to avoid the beach because a "crocodile was chasing a couple of dogs out there".
"The tide was way, way, way out," he said.
"There were people taking their dogs right out on the reef area out there.
"A woman had just come off the beach, she said look don't take your dog out there it's almost taken a dog already."
Don't go close to the water: Darwin ranger
The head of Darwin's Problem Crocodile Management team, Tom Nichols, said a ranger received a call about the incident, and then saw a three-metre crocodile at Rapid Creek that night.
"After that it went down, she didn't see it again," he said.
He said crocodile management caught a three-metre croc in the suburb of Larrakeyah near the centre of Darwin today, but he could not say whether it was the same crocodile.
The team had caught three crocs in Darwin harbour and its waterways in the past week.
"You've got the build-up and the breeding season coming on," he said. "They're certainly on the move.
"Most of the crocs come around and go into Darwin harbour and disperse into the estuaries, but some take a while to get in there.
"They're attracted by bait fish or just inquisitive.
"People have to be croc-wise and realise it is croc habitat up here.
"As you're walking along the beach don't go real close to the water, and keep your eyes open.
"Crocs are attracted to dogs. They certainly like them."
