WA: Elusive croc shot dead in WA's northwest

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2009
WA: Elusive croc shot dead in WA's northwest

By Andrea Hayward and Vincent Morello

PERTH, April 12 AAP - An elusive four-metre crocodile has been shot dead by wildlife
officers after it spooked a popular holiday spot in WA's northwest for almost a week.

A spokeswoman for the West Australian Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC)
said the saltwater croc was killed with a single gunshot on Sunday.

Wildlife officers had tracked the croc since last Tuesday when it was spotted for the
first time near Coral Bay, about 1,200km north of Perth.

It was seen again on Wednesday afternoon but managed to elude wildlife officers until
located by a spotter plane at 3.30pm (WST) on Saturday at Gnaraloo Bay.

Attempts to pinpoint the croc failed, and by Sunday morning it had travelled about
20km north to Cape Farquhar, a DEC spokeswoman said.

The croc was about 20 metres offshore -- it had been shadowing the coastline each time
it was sighted.

DEC officers tracked it to the lagoon at Warroora Station but lost sight of it again
at noon (WST) on Sunday when the spotter plane was forced to return to base to refuel.

The croc appeared again about 2.30pm (WST) and wildlife officers tracked it by air
and boat along the coast.

It surfaced occasionally, but choppy seas made it difficult to track.

Then at 5pm (WST) it was spotted again and a single gunshot caused almost instant death,
the spokeswoman said.

DEC Exmouth district manager Ray Dejong said earlier it had been difficult to keep
tabs on the crocodile because it spent little time on the surface.

The DEC had warned visitors to the Ningaloo Marine Park to stay out of the water and
keep away from the water's edge while the crocodile was at large.

Crocodiles are not usually seen as far south as Coral Bay, where tourists flock to
enjoy camping and fishing along the Ningaloo Reef.

They are typically found only as far south as Onslow, more than 200km north of Coral Bay.

AAP vpm/it/ao

KEYWORD: CROCODILE WA 2ND WRAP (PIX AVAILABLE)

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