Daintree River in Northern Australia

A few weeks ago in the far northeastern tip of Australia, seven-year-old Ryan saw his five-year-old brother, Jeremy, run after the family dog and disappear into the recently flood-ravaged tributary of the mangrove swamp behind the family home.

Both boys had been playing with a boogie board while their father—owner (since Jeremy was a baby) of the Daintree Forest Rivertrain tour business—repaired a broken mangrove boardwalk nearby.

While thousands of species of birds and other wildlife inhabit the one hundred and thirty-five million year old rainforest that is divided from the rest of the world by the Daintree River, it is the crocodiles that were of interest on that particular day—in fact, one fourteen-foot long male croc to be exact.

Known to attack boats that have ventured too close to nests during mating season at Christmas time, crocs can be ferocious. So it is never safe to step close to the riverbank…and it is absolutely a no-no to go swimming in the river…and it is certainly perilous to venture into the swamp on foot. And although by this time in February it was the end of the breeding season, hundreds of aggressive and hungry crocs were now on the move. So despite a familiarity from growing up on the banks of the Daintree, both boys needed to be wary of crocs.

When Ryan saw his younger brother take off after the dog and moments later saw the croc nearby, he just knew there was a problem. But by the time his screams summoned their father for help, it was too late…Jeremy had disappeared.

Last week, that particular four-meter (plus a bit) long croc was caught; it’s stomach contents were removed, by a non-lethal procedure, and analyzed. Tests confirmed the contents contained the remains of Jeremy.

And although his parents, Steve and Sharon, were grief stricken, they asked that the croc be sold to a park or zoo (not released back into the wild)…that it be given the opportunity to live anonymously…and that crocs not be culled from the area.

Now as a parent, how would you react to that situation?

Would you call for immediate death to the croc for killing your child?

Would you want crocs culled for the safety of future tourists…or would you simply warn people to use extreme caution…and share your experience as an example?

My heart goes out to this family in their time of sorrow.

A Daintree River croc

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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