Fisherman wades in crocodile infested waters at Shady Camp, sparking widespread outrage over reckless act
Astonishing footage has emerged of an Australian fisherman wading through crocodile-infested waters as his wife and child look on.
The man was seen standing in the water at Shady Camp, a popular camping and fishing spot on the Mary River in the Northern Territory.
It is also home to the largest population of saltwater crocodiles in the world.
Footage of the reckless act was posted to Instagram on Saturday by popular wildlife expert and tour guide Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy.
The clip shows the man, dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and a dark baseball cap, standing in the river with a fishing rod in his hand.
Mr Duffy lunged at the man and can be heard in the footage calling him an idiot.
He later told viewers he was a “bastard” after warning the fisherman that he would die if he was grabbed by a crocodile in the river.
“I said, ‘Mate, would you like to get away from the water’s edge, these animals can swim pretty fast’ and he said, ‘Sure,’” Mr Duffy recalled.
The man was recently fishing in the water (pictured) at Shady Camp, located in the Mary River National Park in the Northern Territory
‘I then think: ‘No, that’s not right, you don’t seem to understand what I’m trying to tell you’.
Mr Duffy said he warned the man he could be “killed in front of his wife and child” if a crocodile emerged from the water.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, buddy, that’s good, that’s good,’” he said.
‘You can’t fix stupidity…it will be terrible for his wife and child’.
Dozens of viewers were also unimpressed by the man’s reckless behavior.
“Recklessness and irresponsibility in the bush,” one person wrote.
Another added: ‘That’s just crazy. People need to listen.’
A third noted: ‘You can only tell them afterwards that they are on their own,’ added a third.
The images were a fresh reminder for tourists visiting Shady Camp (pictured) to be careful of crocodiles.
Other viewers praised Mr Duffy for his attempts to warn the fisherman of the lurking dangers, even though he himself ignored him.
‘Good advice size and [you are] that’s right, you can’t fix stupidity [forever]’, someone wrote.
“You did what you could,” wrote another.
Mr Duffy also urged viewers to heed warning signs when entering crocodile territory.
“I literally saw a large saltwater launch less than 20 yards away an hour beforehand,” he captioned the footage.
‘No fish is worth your life, legends. Stay out of the bloody waters of the Top End!’
The Mary River is home to the largest population of saltwater crocodiles in the world, with 15 saltwater crocodiles per kilometre.
Shady Camp (pictured), a popular camping and fishing spot, is home to the largest population of saltwater crocodiles in the world
In most rivers in the Top End there is an average of about five crocodiles per kilometre
Shady Camp is also a popular camping and fishing spot for locals and visitors, with people often going there to hunt for barramundi.
There are about 200,000 saltwater crocodiles living in Australia and this is the most dangerous species.
These powerful predators can grow up to seven metres in length and can wait in the water for up to an hour to catch their prey.
Local residents and visitors are urged to heed crocodile warning signs in areas designated as crocodile territory.