It started as a Facebook post on a community noticeboard by a man with a designer dog as his profile picture and just a few friends \u2013 but within 24 hours it was doing the rounds of breakfast TV and online news platforms.<\/p>\n
The question was: had Ross Buckley really seen a 3.5-metre crocodile while on his \u201cusual 6:30am stroll\u201d down the dog beach at the mouth of the Noosa River? Was Buckley even real?<\/p>\n
There was no picture to accompany this alleged sighting of what Buckley at first took to be another \u201cbit of driftwood\u201d in the glittering beach town about 300km south of the commonly considered boundary of typical saltwater crocodile habitat.<\/p>\n
But that did not stop the hot takes \u2013 some holding up the post as evidence to support a croc cull, others as another example of the impacts of global heating. For some, Buckley was a champion of public safety; to others, he may well have been the creation of YouTube pranksters. Buckley, whose post was widely quoted, accepted a friendship request from Guardian Australia but did not respond to questions.<\/p>\n
Buckley\u2019s claim may not otherwise have sparked much more than a few AI-generated memes and some online debate. But, within hours, another emerged \u2013 this time with purported evidence and two witnesses ready to jump in front of a camera to back up their encounter.<\/p>\n
One of them was no stranger to the media. In 2024, James Graham was featured in Forbes Australia, talking about his ASX-listed biotech company that was working to develop a new class of antibiotic-resistant drugs. On Monday morning, he was on Channel Seven\u2019s Sunrise and Nine\u2019s Today show to talk about what he had seen on his sounder \u2013 a sonar device used to electronically show fish below the surface \u2013 the day before.<\/p>\n
Graham told Guardian Australia he was fishing with his mate Kai at a regular spot on the Noosa River, near where the entrepreneur has a holiday house.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t getting any bites and we thought, \u2018that\u2019s a bit unusual\u2019, and then Kai said, \u2018look at the sounder!\u2019,\u201d Graham said. \u201cWe both looked at it, and it just looked like a crocodile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton\u2019s Clear Air column as a free newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n Graham said he and his mate had fished far north in the territory of the mighty saltwater crocodile and were no strangers to its electronic outline.<\/p>\n \u201cWe often fish in crocodile waters and half the fun of fishing in those places is to use the fish finder to spot things in the water,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go, that\u2019s an old car, that\u2019s an old boot, there\u2019s a crocodile.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we know what they look like on the fish finder \u2013 you just don\u2019t ever expect to see them down here.\u201d<\/p>\n Map depicting Gladstone and Noosa<\/a>The Boyne River near Gladstone, 300km north of Noosa, is commonly considered the southern boundary of typical saltwater crocodile habitat<\/p>\n The reports were enough to prompt a response from authorities. A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation said a ranger \u201cconducted a land-based search\u201d on Sunday without luck and that a \u201cvessel-based search\u201d was being scheduled on Monday.<\/p>\n Being ambush predators, crocodiles are most easily spotted at night by shining torches on the water that reflect in their eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware of social media reports regarding a reported crocodile sighting today at the Noosa Spit and are investigating the matter further,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Boyne River near Gladstone, some 300km to the north, is commonly considered the southern boundary of typical crocodile habitat.<\/p>\n \u201cWe investigate every crocodile sighting report we receive.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Clear Air Australia<\/p>\n Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n