photography tale: Queensland estuary
Estuarine crocodiles are territorial beasts. The females, anyway. They stake out some turf and consider everything in it fair game. The males are transient and can pretty much turn up anywhere that any local female permits them to stay. This is my understanding, at any rate, and is based on little more than an encounter in an estuary in northern Queensland.
I was down by the water photographing the estuary when our guide came by. He seemed to be unusually interested in the surrounds, for a guide. Almost as if he were looking for something. I asked him, and he said that he was checking for crocodiles. We'd seen the extensive signage on the trails on the way into the estuary, but there's nothing quite like the worried look on an experienced local to put things in perspective.
The guide pointed out the female on the far bank, and told us the story of a dog that lived in the area. It was a dog infirm with age, and partially blind as well. Puttering about near the water, the dog had attracted the attention of the crocodile. The dog's owner spotted the crocodile slipping into the water, and whisked the dog away.
It was an episode that had happened on the very spot where I was then standing. I pointed out that the crocodile had seen us but showed little interest. It was then that he explained how the males operated. We didn't linger.
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