A screenshot of a video showing a crocodile at Coonarr beach near Bundaberg. (Supplied: Jasmine Van Den Bos)
In short:
QPWS rangers have seen a 2-metre crocodile on the beachfront of the Sarawak camping area at Inskip Point.
It comes just over a week after a crocodile was spotted at Bundaberg’s Coonarr Beach.
What’s next?
Rangers are urging people to stay away from Sarawak West camping area while they try to locate the crocodile.
Beachgoers at a popular campsite near Rainbow Beach are being warned to be on the lookout for a “vagrant” crocodile.
Earlier on Monday, rangers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) observed the 2-metre crocodile on the beachfront of the Sarawak camping area at Inskip Point and watched it flee into the ocean.
The rangers took photos of the crocodile’s body imprinted on the sand, including the marks made by its claw and sliding tail.
A claw mark from a crocodile at Inskip Point. (Supplied: QPWS)
Senior wildlife officer Joshua Morris said the animal was likely to be the same crocodile recently videoed on Coonarr Beach, near Bundaberg.
Beachgoers saw a crocodile entering the water at Coonarr Beach. (Supplied: Jasmine Van Den Bos)
“Rangers will be notifying people in camping areas in the Inskip Point region and wildlife officers will install recent crocodile sight warning signs,” Mr Morris said.
“People in the area are urged to be vigilant around the water, keep their children close and use an esky or similar as a barrier while fishing.
“As part of our investigation, we will conduct ground patrols, vessel-based searches and use drones to check the surrounding coastline.
“We are asking people in the Rainbow Beach region, including boaties, to make a sighting report if they see what they believe to be a crocodile.”
Mr Morris said Rainbow Beach was hundreds of kilometres outside of Queensland’s normal crocodile habitat, and the animal would be removed from the wild when it was located.
“We can reassure the public that this crocodile is considered to be a vagrant animal that has moved into the area from up north, and this sighting does not mean the crocodile population is extending south,” he said.