Overview
- Emergency crews carried out multiple rescues during the Top End’s worst flooding in decades, with police warning crocodiles are “absolutely everywhere” in swollen waterways.
- Katherine reported unusual encounters, including a saltwater crocodile sighted on the town’s AFL oval, as residents were urged to stay out of floodwater.
- Long-term surveys indicate crocodile numbers in the Top End recovered to roughly pre-exploitation levels of about 100,000 non-hatchlings and have remained stable for more than a decade.
- Most crocodiles seen around Katherine are likely freshwater animals, but saltwater crocodiles are present, and the Daly River near Nauiyu is considered high risk during flooding.
- Authorities advise avoiding floodwater, keeping at least several metres from any crocodile, and keeping pets, livestock and waste away from waterways because large salties can attack even in shallow water.