Crocodile sighting closes Bitter Springs in Elsey National Park, NT

A popular swimming spot in the Northern Territory has been closed following a crocodile sighting.

Bitter Springs in Elsey National Park was closed on Friday by Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife, the department announced on Facebook.

Elsey National Park is located about 120km south of Katherine, near Mataranka.

The springs were closed “following the sighting of a saltwater crocodile in the management zone”, it said.

“While we work to remove the croc, we have closed access to the springs for safety reasons.”

The thermal pool off Homestead Rd remains open for swimming, as do the park’s other facilities, such as its camping ground.

The sighting and closure comes after a Queensland river was searched for almost a week after a sighting was reported.

A member of the public reported what they believed to be a 3m crocodile in the Burnett River at Bundaberg on November 15.

Queensland’s Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DESI) confirmed on November 20 that it could not confirm “the presence of a crocodile or revealed any evidence of a crocodile being in the area”.

The witness reported seeing the crocodile from about 10m away as it moved out from under a tree, turned to face them, lifted its tail out of the water then submerged.

Despite remaining at the location for around an hour, the person did not see any further signs of the animal.

Senior wildlife officer Joshua Morris said the investigation involved day and night searches of the river by land and vessel, however, no signs of a crocodile have yet been found.

“Wildlife officers conducted thorough searches from the distillery to the mouth of the Burnett River, which is around 14km,” Morris said.

“We were looking for the telltale signs of crocodiles, such as the red eye shine at night, claw marks and slide marks in mud and flattened patches of grass on the banks.”

The Bundaberg region is considered an atypical crocodile habitat and is known as Zone F.

“Any crocodile confirmed to be present in Zone F is automatically targeted for removal from the wild,” he said.

Crocodiles in Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River are considered to be the southernmost breeding population of crocodiles in the world.

“Regions south of Rockhampton are believed to be too cold in winter to support populations of crocodiles,” Morris said.

Only two crocodiles have been confirmed outside “Croc Country”, and were removed from the Mary River in the Wide Bay area in 2013 and 2014.