{"id":395333,"date":"2026-01-08T04:07:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/395333\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T04:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:07:19","slug":"nt-rangers-capture-croc-a-day-in-first-week-of-new-year-after-more-than-240-caught-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/395333\/","title":{"rendered":"NT rangers capture croc a day in first week of new year, after more than 240 caught in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Territory rangers have captured a crocodile a day in Top End waterways during the first week of 2026, including an almost 5-metre-long animal near one of the territory’s most popular waterfalls.<\/p>\n

The huge 4.9-metre croc was pulled out of a creek that feeds into Wangi Falls, a major waterfall in Litchfield National Park near Darwin, earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

Rangers with the 4.9-metre crocodile they caught near Wangi Falls this week. (Supplied: NT Parks and Wildlife)<\/p>\n

NT Parks and Wildlife acting director of wildlife operations Sam Hyson said the croc was one of two measuring more than 4 metres to be caught near Wangi Falls just a week into the new year.<\/p>\n

“It’s one of the larger ones caught in Litchfield for some time. It’s certainly the largest one for the year [so far],” he said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been averaging a croc a day [in 2026].<\/p>\n

“[2025 was] a big year for crocodile management.”<\/p>\n

Mr Hyson said rangers’ operations in 2026 would be bolstered by new, purpose-built crocodile traps.<\/p>\n

“We are working with [the NT government’s] flora and fauna division and [Charles Darwin University] on new technologies, such as environmental DNA monitoring and AI, working with underwater cameras to assist detection,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Bathers<\/p>\n

Two crocodiles more than 4 metres long have been caught near Wangi Falls in the past week. (Supplied: Jennifer Pinkerton)<\/p>\n

Hundreds of crocs caught in 2025<\/p>\n

A total of 241 crocodiles were caught across the territory in 2025, NT Parks and Wildlife rangers have reported \u2014 30 fewer than in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Annual crocodile capture numbers spiked in 2021<\/a>, when 322 were caught, but counts have slowly dwindled.<\/p>\n

Rangers said 199 of those caught last year were pulled out of Darwin Harbour.<\/p>\n

“I think that’s mainly largely because [of] the effort that’s going into the management zones, including Darwin Harbour,” Mr Hyson said.<\/p>\n

“[It] is capturing those numbers as they come in, so we’re seeing a plateau of numbers \u2014 that’s our theory we’re working on.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sam Hyson (left) and Kelly Ewin (right) pictured with a small, recently captured crocodile and some of the traps rangers are using to manage populations. (ABC News: Tilda Colling)<\/p>\n

Throughout the year, NT rangers monitor more than 20 crocodile traps in management areas, including popular swimming sites.<\/p>\n

The traps, which sit partially submerged in the water, look like metres-long metal cages, and use pieces of meat to attract crocodiles.<\/p>\n

Increased croc movements ‘due to cyclone’<\/p>\n

The Top End’s wet season, which lasts from November to April, brings an increased risk of crocodile activity<\/a>, meaning many natural waterways \u2014 including Wangi Falls \u2014 are closed to the public for safety reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Rangers capturing two crocodiles in Darwin Harbour at night. (Supplied: NT Parks and Wildlife)<\/p>\n

When creeks and rivers rise from heavy rain, they can flow into areas that don’t usually get as much water, potentially leading to crocodiles entering those areas or moving through them.<\/p>\n

NT Parks and Wildlife Minister Marie-Clare Boothby attributed the increase in crocodile captures so far this year to an increase in rainfall in late 2025.<\/p>\n

In November, Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina passed over the NT, causing dams to overflow and bringing high rainfall totals<\/a>, including record levels at about 15 sites.<\/p>\n

Ms Boothby said the number of crocodiles being found in waterways was a reminder for people to stay vigilant.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

This 3.9m crocodile (left) was caught in Litchfield National Park and another measuring 3.6m (right) was removed from Howard River. (Supplied: NT Parks and Wildlife)<\/p>\n

“We want to try and keep as many watering holes open as possible, but we have to balance that with our unique territory experience,” she said.<\/p>\n

“My message to all people who are looking to swim in natural waterways over the wet season is, if there is water, there could be crocodiles.”<\/p>\n

The NT government is continuing to urge locals and tourists to stay croc-wise<\/a> and report any suspected sightings immediately to Parks and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

NT Parks and Wildlife staff are monitoring specific croc management zones. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Northern Territory rangers have captured a crocodile a day in Top End waterways during the first week of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[276,49,48,121399,167214,167210,167213,167212,167211,167215,32092,167209,30248,9645,167218,54831,66,167217,167219,167216,323],"class_list":["post-395333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-croc","tag-croc-management","tag-croc-risk","tag-crocodile-capture","tag-crocodile-caught","tag-crocodile-data","tag-crocodile-management","tag-crocodiles","tag-litchfield","tag-national-park","tag-nt","tag-nt-parks-and-wildlife","tag-park-ranger","tag-science","tag-swimming-hole","tag-underwater-monitoring","tag-wet-season","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}