A group of young people playing on the bank of a stream sparked outrage from locals, who repeatedly warned them that crocodiles feed in the area.
The group of four people were spotted near the water’s edge of Myall Creek at Cape Tribulation in northeast Queensland by a local, Luke, on Wednesday.
Luke snapped a photo of their naive fun and shared it on social media, where he criticized their “stupid” behavior.
Numerous signs posted in the area warned tourists and locals alike to avoid getting too close to the water and Luke said he even saw some of the group take a dip.
To make matters worse, he reported seeing a four-meter crocodile wandering nearby “for some time.”
Now he is using the group’s “stupid” act to try to encourage others to act in the opposite direction to avoid easily avoidable tragedies in the future.
In August, a 40-year-old father fishing with his family in Cooktown, 100 kilometers to the north, fell into the water and was never seen alive again.
Instead, rescuers found “human remains” inside a local crocodile that was later euthanized.
Queensland local Luke spotted a group of four people playing near the water’s edge at Myall Creek in Cape Tribulation, northeast Queensland, on Wednesday.
Cape Tribulation is located in the Daintree Rainforest, which is famous crocodile country and the local authority website warns visitors to “always obey crocodile warning signs”.
Facing backlash for not warning the group at the time, Luke explained that he didn’t feel the need to “scream like an idiot” since there were warning signs everywhere.
“I didn’t use my voice to scream like an idiot across the river at some people who must be stupid,” he wrote.
“The post was to educate more people, it is common sense that crocodiles are everywhere in the north (and) in all the accommodation they tell you not to go into the water.”
Luke had also spoken to a couple of nearby fishermen who said they had already told the group to be careful.
Luke claims to have seen hundreds of people get too close to the waters of Myall Creek in recent months and, despite his warnings, many chose not to move.
‘Humans have a brain. “They can use them,” he continued.
“I’m reaching more people through Facebook than 100 people a day.”
Cape Tribulation is located in the Daintree Rainforest, famous crocodile country and the local authority website warns visitors to “always obey crocodile warning signs”.
This advice is the first indicated on their website and secondly, visitors are advised to move a few meters away from the water’s edge.
Luke criticized the group for positioning themselves so close to the water and shared that he even saw the young Australians enter the water at one point.
The Queensland government has pleaded with tourists and locals in the past to stay clockwise to avoid easily avoidable tragedies in the future.
Commenters on the post criticized the group’s actions, expressed sympathy for the crocodiles, and defended Luke for not confronting them.
‘You don’t need to tell them lmao. They are in crocodile land, there are many signs. Many warnings. They are choosing to ignore them,” one person wrote.
“There is a brain in everyone’s head, it’s about time they started using it.”
‘Natural selection in action. Unfortunately the crocodile suffers for his stupidity,” wrote a second.
“The ignorance of people like this pisses me off, then they destroy the crocodile for doing what is natural in its own home,” added a third.
‘Stupid is what a stupid person does. “The whole area is full of warning signs, but people choose to ignore them because they know better,” said a fourth.
Mature male Daintree River crocodiles can grow up to six meters in length and females in the area can grow to around 3.5 metres.
The Department of Environment and Science has previously warned “everyone who lives in and visits Croc County to make sensible decisions when around water and always practice CrocWise behavior.”
