A four-day investigation by wildlife officers of the Burnett River in Bundaberg has not confirmed the presence of a crocodile or revealed any evidence of a crocodile being in the area.
Wildlife officers launched the investigation following a crocodile sighting report from a member of the public on 15 November 2024.
Senior wildlife officer Joshua Morris said the investigation involved day and night searches of the river by land and vessel.
“Wildlife officers conducted thorough searches from the distillery to the mouth of the Burnett River, which is around fourteen kilometres.” Mr Morris said.
“We were looking for the telltale signs of crocodiles, such as the red eye shine at night, claw marks and slide marks in mud and flattened patches of grass on the banks.
“The investigation will continue into the week, which again will include ground searches of the river during the day and at night.
“We have not received any further sighting reports from members of the public and we plan to leave the recent crocodile sighting sign at the McGills Street boat ramp in place until Friday if there are no further sightings reported by then.
“During our investigation, wildlife officers spoke to fishers, campers and people on the water about the potential crocodile sighting report.
“To help reassure the community, we provided Crocwise education and advice on what people should do if they see what they believe to be a crocodile.”
Mr Morris said the Bundaberg region is in Zone F – atypical crocodile habitat under the Queensland Crocodile Management Plan.
“Any crocodile confirmed to be present in Zone F is automatically targeted for removal from the wild,” he said.
“Crocodiles in Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River are considered to be the southern-most breeding population of crocodiles in the world.
“Regions south of Rockhampton are believed to be too cold in winter to support populations of crocodiles.
“That’s why just two vagrant crocodiles have been confirmed to be present outside of Croc Country, and those two animals were removed from the Mary River in 2013 and 2014.
“People in Queensland should continue to report what they believe to be crocodiles regardless of the location, and wildlife officers investigate every sighting report.”
Crocodile sightings can be reported by using the QWildlife app, completing a crocodile sighting report on the DETSI website
