Man's incredible photos capture hidden danger in Aussie wilderness
The man was exploring a dry floodplain in the Top End when he said something suddenly caught his eye.
A man has shared the moment he made a startling discovery while "walking on a fairly dry floodplain" recently. Cain Kalsbeek, who lives in Arnhem Land in the northeast corner of the Northern Territory, was exploring the area's vast wilderness when something caught his eye.
"I only noticed as we were driving away in the buggy," the local man told Yahoo News Australia this week, sharing images he'd captured of his find. Only when zooming in can you see "scutes [vertical scales along the tail] protruding from a bit of water" exposing a camouflaged three-metre crocodile hiding in the mud.
While abundant in the area, the predators are normally found in and around large water sources. But at this time of year, things are a little different, Kalsbeek explained.
"Once the billabong dries up they are stuck there until the monsoon comes," he said, describing the area's dry season which is due to end this month. Some crocodiles are known to trek between water sources at night when it’s cooler, often travelling long distances. Some, however, choose to stay and wait it out.
Images shared with Yahoo show a muddy, grassland area where a small murky puddle remains. An isolated croc appears to have made the water source home, at least until the wet season arrives — but Kalsbeek said they're easy to miss if roaming the area on foot.
How crocodiles use mud for survival
Queensland tour guide David White, from Solar Whisper Daintree River and Wildlife Cruises, previously told Yahoo News, "crocs can go for a long time without food or water" after one was spotted "doing it tough" in a small puddle of water in an otherwise dry creek.
While some Aussies raised concerns about its welfare, White confirmed its normal behaviour. "They just can't get too hot," he said.
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To help stay cool, the animals submerge themselves in mud —a common sight across the northern parts during the dry season when the waterways dry up. While most people living in the area are aware of the tactic and know to keep an eye out, Kalsbeek said not everyone's been so lucky.
"There has been one or two people in the NT in the past year or so that have accidentally stepped on them," he revealed. He believes they required treatment in the hospital.
But often the crocs lose interest in attacking as conditions become oppressive, local fisherman Rodney Fischer previously explained to Yahoo.
"I think in situations like this the croc is more worried about surviving and conserving energy," he said of a time he came within close proximity to a croc hidden in mud along the Ord River in Western Australia. "The croc didn't show any aggression".
Local man's 'close calls' with crocodiles
Revealing a few "close calls" of his own, the first occurred on a "pitch black night," he said. "A five-metre croc was 1-1.5m away from me when I was throwing a net and could’ve easily had me".
The second was slightly more alarming. He'd "slipped down a bank and nearly landed on a submerged croc," he explained. And on another occasion, a "big croc popped up beside me" while hanging off his boat.
"They don’t scare me as such but I have amazing respect for them," he said. "I am around them a lot so I am accustomed to them."
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