SYDNEY: ‘Croc Hunter’ Steve Irwin’s father Bob Irwin yesterday pleaded for no revenge attacks against crocodiles after fears rose that a fisherman had been snatched by one of the deadly reptiles.
Hopes were fading yesterday that 62-year-old Arthur Booker, reportedly a Scottish-born Vietnam War veteran, would be found alive after searchers discovered more of his belongings near where he went missing.
Booker had packed up his camp near the north Queensland town of Cooktown, in the state’s so-called ‘Cape Crocodile’ region, on Tuesday when he went back to collect some crab pots.
His wife, who had been waiting for him in their car, alerted authorities when he failed to return and she found some of his belongings, including a camera, close to crocodile marks near the water.
Irwin said Booker’s disappearance, which some locals have pinned on a 5.5m crocodile known as Charlie, was no excuse to “commit random acts of violence against crocodiles”.
“While I obviously have the deepest sympathy for the family of this man who has possibly been taken, we have to remember that the crocodile is a vital part of the eco-system and it was behaving naturally,” he told brisbanetimes.com.au.
“And given the reported size of this particular crocodile, he would have regarded that part of the river as his home for at least 50 years.”
Bob Irwin’s son Steve died in September 2006 after a stingray barb pierced his chest, prompting fans to kill some of the marine creatures in Queensland.
Police could not confirm that Booker had been taken by a crocodile but said his wristwatch and the second of his sandals had been found near the Endeavour River. The line securing the crab pots was also frayed, rather than cut clean with a knife, they said.
Cairns police District Inspector Ian Swan said 15 people were still searching for the man and would do so today if he was not found.
“At this stage we’ve got no concrete evidence to support a crocodile was involved but there are crocodiles in that reach of the river,” Swan said.
Locals said the territorial reptiles were known to patrol the river and Booker may have made a fatal mistake in returning to an area to reclaim his pots.
“We’ve all seen the documentaries where there’s those lightning-fast takes out of the water,” Russell Bowman, owner of a Cooktown lure shop, said.
“It’s one of the basic rules you apply - don’t form habits.
“If you’re camping on a water hole you try not to go back to the same place repeatedly.”
The last person to be killed by a crocodile attack in Queensland was a fisherman, dragged from a canoe at Lakefield National Park, about 50km from the Endeavour River campsite, in August 2005. – AFP |
