13 March, 2015. 15:01
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
POLICE NEAR DARWIN are once again on the lookout for a “shark of biblical proportions” after the remains of a 17-metre crocodile were spotted from the air.
Officials from Charles Darwin University and the NT Police have confirmed that the crocodile was attacked by a “super-sized marine predator”.
Teams are currently attempting to recover the crocodiles’ remains from the Timor Sea but efforts have been hampered by bad weather.
The croc was first spotted near Peron Island North, about 100km south-west of Darwin.
The footage was captured by a recreational pilot, who then radioed the discovery to NT air traffic control.
Just last week, a giant squid was caught off the coast of Java – prompting suggestions a massive cephalopod could be responsible for this incident.
This sentiment was echoed by researchers from the University of Hawaii, who’ve published studies in to the growing numbers of “huge, oversized apex predators” that have become more prevalent after the 2011 Japanese tsunami, which triggered the Fukashima disaster – spilling billions of litres of radioactive water in to the Pacific Ocean.
The link between the high concentrations of radiation and “larger-than-usual” marine life is currently unconfirmed.
A spokesman from NT Police said authorities were doing “the best they can to make sure the public is not in danger”.
“We’re out there now trying to find whatever killed the croc,”
“At the moment, fisheries and the military are working together to remove the threat,”
“When we do find whatever killed the croc, we’ll shoot it or put it in a zoo.”
With additional reporting from AAP
seems like a win win to me. Big shark eats big crocodiles, thus thinning the population of dangerous crocs and meaning he isn’t hungry enough to target humans……………..