Straya: Mulletted Aussies wade through crocodile-infested waters with a beer, a smoke and a gun – just days after a publican was killed in a vicious attack while fishing
- Two men have walked in crocodile-infested waters in northern QLD
- The pair are being criticized for the dangerous act on TikTok
- It comes days after a hotel owner was attacked and eaten
Two men have been charged with wading in crocodile-infested waters for just over a week after a hotel owner was killed and eaten by two crocodiles while fishing.
The men were caught on camera walking waist-deep through the Jardine River near Cape York in far north Queensland.
One of the men is shirtless and holding a can of beer, while the other brandishes a lever-action shotgun.
Both men trudge through the murky waters before reaching the shoreline.
Footage of the incident was uploaded to TikTok with the video covered in the popular song ‘Dumb Ways To Die’.
“I’m checking the depth of the crocodile-infested River Jardine,” the caption read.
Two men have been criticized on social media after they were filmed recklessly wading through crocodile-infested waters in Far North Queensland
A number of viewers slammed the pair for the reckless act due to the sheer number of crocodiles lurking in the river.
“Croc would have been with you dude before you could take aim — seriously, you’re in their world now,” one person said in the comments.
“Sorry mate but the gun won’t protect you, they go underwater, not above won’t see it coming, they hunt for a living,” another commented.
A third added: “They wouldn’t see it coming until it grabbed one of them.”
“Two badass non-locals come this way thinking they own the place, while doing stupid things,” another wrote.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment and Science said the DES strongly condemned the men’s dangerous actions.
“DES conservationists work hard to equip people with the tools and education they need to be Crocwise, and it’s frustrating to see people take unnecessary, life-threatening risks in the familiar crocodile habitat,” he said.
It is currently illegal to shoot a crocodile in Queensland.
The reckless act comes just over a week after publican Kevin Darmody, 65, was killed by two saltwater crocodiles in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park, which is about 600km south of the Jardine River.
A number of viewers slammed the pair for the reckless act due to the huge number of crocodiles lurking in the river (stock image)
Darmody was fishing along the banks of the Kennedy River at 3:30 p.m. on April 29.
Nearby campers recalled hearing screams and frantic splashing with fear that he was being taken by a crocodile.
Authorities believe Darmody was heading to the water’s edge to get a fishing bait when he was snatched by one of the reptiles.
Animal park rangers from the Department of Environment and Science (DES) shot two crocodiles measuring 4.1 meters and 2.8 meters long two days after the attack.
The reptilian pair were about a mile upstream from where Mr Darmody was last seen.
Human remains were found in one of the following reptiles an autopsy – a post-mortem examination of an animal – but both crocodiles were said to be involved in the attack.
The search for missing fisherman Kevin Darmody (pictured) has been called off after police found human remains in one of two euthanized crocodiles
The suspected attack has led to calls for changes in how Queensland manages the reptiles.
Robbie Katter, the leader of the Australian party in Queensland, has advocated the culling of crocodiles as the territorial predators move up the river system and overtake the waterways.
“My immediate response and it sounds a bit blunt, but how about dumping them in your river and seeing how you can live with them,” said Mr. Katter.
“I take my family to the Gregory River and we swim there because there are no crocodiles, but they are coming up the Gregory now.
“At Lake Placid, where I swam as a child, you’re not allowed to swim there anymore.”