Tourists 'blown away' after sighting rare golden reptile
For three years locals had delighted in spotting the region's rare golden crocodile, then disturbing rumours started to spread.
Tourists visiting a coastal mining town have been excited after spotting a “unique” looking creature. They witnessed the “golden” 1.5 metre-long saltwater crocodile after hopping into a boat with a local travel guide.
Just days earlier it was thought the rare animal had been killed, and locals had been mourning its loss.
To protect the croc from poachers, its location has been a tightly guarded secret. “All the locals obviously know it, but when it comes to outsiders, let’s just say it’s in the Weipa region somewhere,” the vessel’s captain Malcolm Slack told Yahoo News.
His company Western Cape Eco Tours, has been documenting the croc and taking lucky visitors to the Far North Queensland town view it over the last three years. “I've lived in Weipa now for over 20 years, and I’ve spent a lot of time on the water, but I’ve only ever seen one other crocodile this colour,” Slack added.
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Why is the crocodile golden?
It’s believed the Cape York’s crocodile’s strange appearance is due to a mutation called leucism. Like albinism, it causes a partial loss of pigmentation causing its skin to lighten, although unlike the latter it can be caused by both genetics or environmental factors.
“It does get bullied around. I think it’s because of the colour. You never see it in the same spot and it keeps on having to move around to avoid altercations with larger crocodiles,” Slack said.
Moment tour operator thought golden crocodile was dead
He’s become quite close to Casper the crocodile, affectionately named after the friendly cartoon ghost. And as he spoke to Yahoo News on Wednesday, he admitted to feeling relief that the animal hadn’t been killed.
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Video had been circulating around the town showing a light coloured crocodile being mauled by a larger male.
“We hadn’t seen the little fella for about three weeks, and we were thinking it must have got eaten. Then a couple of days ago he turned up out of the blue,” Slack said.
“It’s definitely the same one, which is good for the tourists. Because it’s something really rare to see. When you get up close people are amazed by the colour of this little crocodile and everyone is blown away and wants a photo.
“And I’m quite happy it’s back too.”
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