Photos of a crocodile on Australia's Fraser Island pictured a fake croc.
Dangerous croc on Fraser Island?
There was pandemonium on Australia's beautiful Fraser Island in October 2006 when the local newspaper ran a photo of a crocodile that had invaded the island's beach.
No one could remember ever seeing a croc this far south on Queensland's coast. But there it was in the Fraser Coast Chronicle. Surely it must be true.
Korean tourists visiting the island had photographed the menacing reptile and told the newspaper about it. But some people were suspicious. It was certainly possible for a croc to be on Fraser Island, and sightings in October 2008 seemed to confirm the possibility, but until now it was unheard of. Fraser is famous for its pure-bred dingoes — not crocodiles. Were things about to change?
Fraser Island is a large sand island off the
southeastern coast of the Australian State of Queensland. It is a
little further up the coast than the State's capital, Brisbane. Its
beautiful beaches, sand hills, forests, and freshwater lakes
stocked with fish make it a popular tourist destination.
Story spreads
The croc story spread rapidly. And by the end of the day the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had investigated the sighting and dismissed the croc as a hoax.
The EPA issued a statement that said:
“The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that the crocodile photographed by Korean tourists on Fraser Island on Friday is a fake. Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers spotted a fisherman on the island with the fake crocodile … and took photographs of it. — EPA statement, Reported sighting of crocodile on Fraser Island, 4 October, 2006.”
The
EPA released its ranger's photos. And well, you can see from the
top photo that it looks like a crocodile. But what's that
in the photo at right? Paint flaking off the croc's snout? And is
that styrofoam beneath it?
The EPA was also amused that the croc had landed on the beach without leaving any trail behind it. Crocs don't just drop from the air you know.
Busted!
The EPA found out that some visitors to the island had brought the spray-moulded fake croc with them for a laugh.
Other photos of the croc surfaced when Australian ABC program Media Watch ran the story. They received photos from a couple who had photographed their daughter sitting on the croc!
[The map of Queensland and Fraser Island by Remih is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 1.0 License.]
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