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A decapitated crocodile found at Cow Bay, Queensland, photographed by
conservationist Tom Hayes shortly after it was discovered by locals. Photograph:
Tom Hayes
A decapitated crocodile found at Cow Bay, Queensland, photographed by
conservationist Tom Hayes shortly after it was discovered by locals. Photograph:
Tom Hayes
The rural networkCrocodiles

This article is more than 2 months old


AUTHORITIES STILL BAFFLED BY HEADLESS CROCODILE FOUND ON NORTH QUEENSLAND BEACH

This article is more than 2 months old
 * WARNING: IMAGES MAY DISTURB SOME READERS

Wildlife photographer who examined the reptile says its head was ‘obviously
surgically removed’

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Supported by

About this content
Khaled Al Khawaldeh
Tue 25 Apr 2023 08.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 25 Apr 2023 14.44 BST
 * 
 * 
 * 



The mystery of a headless crocodile found on a beach in far north Queensland has
baffled authorities and set the internet buzzing with theories of an
interspecies face-off, but experts say it’s likely a human took the animal’s
head.

The four-metre-long saltwater crocodile was found dead and decapitated on a
sandbank near Cow Bay on the edge of the Daintree Rainforest, about 120km north
of Cairns, on 12 April.



Photos of the headless reptile quickly began circulating on social media,
sparking theories of the crocodile’s demise, which included a possible
altercation with a great white shark, or a vicious battle with a larger
crocodile.

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   newsletter

However, the zoologist and founder of Crocodylus Park in Darwin, Prof Grahame
Webb, said it was extremely unlikely that another wild animal was the culprit.
It was much more likely to be a human, he said.

“The one thing you can be sure of is that someone not something has taken its
head off,” he said.

“Whether they killed it and then decided to take its head, or whether they found
it already dead can only be determined through an autopsy.”


Photographer Tom Hayes says the crocodile’s head was ‘obviously surgically
removed’ by a human. Photograph: Tom Hayes

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science investigated the incident
but said it was unable to determine the cause of death and decapitation of the
protected species due to the decomposed state of the corpse.

The north Queensland crocodile photographer and conservationist Tom Hayes, who
travelled to see the corpse hours after it was discovered by locals, said it
appeared obvious to him that the corpse had been desecrated by a human being.

“If it was another crocodile, it would tear it off from the least-resistant
point at the spine just above the shoulders – this was obviously surgically
removed from the base of the skull,” he told Guardian Australia.

Hayes said the carcass had cut marks that looked like they had come from a
machete. It also appeared the animal’s nails and other parts had been ripped
off. He said he believed it was likely that the head of the crocodile had been
kept as a trophy.

“Some people just genuinely hate crocodiles,” he said. “Other people think that
if they take out the big croc that their waterways are going to be safe.

“But the reality is that it just opens the door for younger, more aggressive and
testosterone-fuelled males to enter.”

Killing or desecrating crocodiles is illegal, but Hayes said the reinforcement
of those laws in more remote areas was lacking. He criticised the government for
failing to investigate the incident with the same zeal as an investigation into
a crocodile attack in February at the nearby Bloomfield River, where a crocodile
attacked a man and ate his pet dog after they waded into the water. Authorities
tracked down and killed the 4.2-metre crocodile the next day.

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Amanda French from Community Representation of Crocodiles (Croc) agreed and said
there should be stricter fines for killing crocodiles and better strategies for
managing humans in crocodile habitats.

French suggested the reptile had been decapitated “in response to the recent
spate of crocodile incidents in far north Queensland”.

“The poor crocs come off second best because of their nature and their
reputation,” she said. “Say if they found a koala or a sea turtle, I bet the
reaction would have been different.”

However, Webb said crocodile populations in far north Queensland were healthy
and he did not see this isolated case as concerning from a conservation
perspective.

“There has been great management of crocs in north Queensland, but naturally
these images tend to stir up a lot of public feelings,” he said.

The maximum penalty for killing a crocodile without authorisation is $27,425.

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