In tonight’s edition of ‘Holy Shit, Why, Why Would You Do That‘ News, several people in Queensland have apparently been using baited lines to try to catch saltwater crocodiles – just for shits and giggles.
The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has received three reports over the last couple of months of North Queenslanders with a tenuous grip on their senses trying to catch the literal man-eating dinosaurs. At least one of those three appears to have been doing to “bolster their social media presence,” said Environment Minister Steven Miles.
“They achieved this objective, their Facebook posts leading us to investigate their actions,” he said.
Dr Miles seems, like most people with even a passing sense of self-preservation, baffled by the very concept, saying, “it’s frankly unbelievable that members of the public would contemplate doing this, it shows a complete disregard for personal and public safety.”
Aside from it being definitely illegal to catch wild crocodiles, we’re currently deep into crocodile mating season, which means that the oversized, toothy handbags are even more territorial and aggressive than usual – bad news for anyone thinking they’ll easily nab their best profile pic to date by snagging a selfie with one of the monsters.
Dr Miles said that croc-baiters are also putting the public at risk: if crocs come to associate certain areas with food, they’ll visit more often, and food for crocodiles is pretty often human-shaped.
Salties are the biggest crocodilians on the planet, growing up to 7 metres long and weighing up to 1000kg. I saw one once from a distance and nearly piddled myself because my hindbrain was so certain I was going to be actually devoured.
Please do not try to catch one just for the ‘gram.
Source: Brisbane Times.
Image: Raúl Barrero / Getty.
