Crocodile capture could take months


IT could take months to capture the crocodile suspected of killing a man in far north Queensland despite rangers scouring the Endeavour River near Cooktown twice a day.

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesman today said four traps had been set on the embankment and another floating in the river in a bid to capture the crocodile following the disappearance of Arthur Booker.

Vietnam veteran Mr Booker, of Logan, south of Brisbane, disappeared after he left a camp site to check crab pots on the banks of the Endeavour River on Tuesday.
A four-day search failed to find any signs of the 62-year-old, other than two sandals and his wristwatch.

An EPA spokesman today said it was hard to predict how long it would take to trap a crocodile.
"One of the rangers said to me today they have seen one take the bait in nine hours, but one took nine months to catch a particular crocodile - it is entirely dependent on the animal,'' he said from Cooktown.
"We've set five traps - now it's just a matter of wait and see.''

The river is a known crocodile habitat and it is suspected Mr Booker has fallen prey to an adult male crocodile nicknamed Charlie.
"A survey of that stretch of river a couple of nights ago found nine crocodiles,'' the EPA spokesman said.

Police suspended the search for Mr Booker yesterday but have asked wildlife authorities to check the stretch of river twice a day.
"Police have asked us to do a run twice a day, keep a look out when we check the traps,'' the EPA spokesman said.
"Every morning and afternoon we will be checking the river.''
He said any crocodile over two metres would be caught and injected with a drug that would make it regurgitate.
"They will then look for any evidence, if there is they will call in the police,'' the EPA spokesman said.
He said the trapped crocodiles would not be harmed or killed, most likely relocated to another remote river system or held in captivity while examined.

Queensland Environment Minister Andrew McNamara has already dismissed calls for a crocodile culling program.

The EPA spokesman also denied claims that the crocodile suspected of taking Mr Booker - Charlie - was 6m in length.
"I've corrected people left right and centre on this. There was a picture of him caught in 2003 and he was 4.35m,'' he said.
"They don't grow that quickly. That particular animal would be about 4.5m - that's still big but it's misinformation saying he is 6m.''