A FIVE-metre crocodile that has been lurking near a school in Queensland`s far north for several weeks is proving a little too cunning for authorities.
Police received reports of at least three crocodiles in Cowal Creek near Injinoo school, on the northern tip of Cape York, on Good Friday.
EPA officers have set up traps near the waterway, which lies just 10m from the fenced-off school grounds, where up to 100 students play every day.
A 3.6m crocodile was caught almost immediately, but the largest crocodile, estimated to be between four and five metres long, remains at large.
"The big croc is still out there, and there were reports that there were three crocs hanging around in the area today, two small ones and one large one," Sergeant Glenn Smith, of nearby Bamaga police, said today.
"Of course with a large crocodile, it`s a problem crocodile so it has to be removed from the area."
After trapping the 3.6m saltwater crocodile, EPA officers needed a safe place to store the reptile over Easter while they arranged for its transportation out of the region.
Bamaga police initially volunteered to place the crocodile in their watchhouse, but eventually decided to keep it underneath their offices.
"They needed a place, of course, where dogs wouldn`t annoy it," Sgt Smith said.
"The perfect place we had available was underneath the police house, where it could be locked up and we could hose it down, and it was basically triple-fenced."
The croc was kept for five days before it was taken by barge to Cairns, where it is being studied and tagged before it is released into a yet-to-be determined location.
EPA officers are in Injinoo today to check their traps, while students at the school keep a safe distance from the waterway.
Share this article
