A fisherman whose live sonar picked up a crocodile-shaped object in the Logan River says it could be the real deal.
Steve Morgan, a veteran angler and Australian Fishing Trade Association board member, was fishing for barramundi along the Logan River at Carbrook when his sonar picked up a 3m-long mass in the water.
“When you’re drifting down the river and you see the outline of a crocodile, and it’s moving, then you’re not guessing,” he said.
“If I was to put money on it, I’d bet it was a [saltwater] croc in the river.”
Mr Morgan, a marine scientist by trade, said he would not be surprised if there was a crocodile this far south.
“Crocodiles and barramundi have similar distributions, and if the barra are down this far, then the crocs would be as well.
“A couple of the other local guys have seen things they thought were crocs as well.”
Mr Morgan snapped a quick photo and video of the sonar imaging, catching the mysterious object only moments before it vanished.
“It was about [3-3.5m]. It wasn’t a baby croc – it was a proper one.”
While rumours of crocodiles in the Logan and Albert Rivers have existed for years, there has only been one confirmed case – 120 years ago.
In June 1905, Logan Village storekeeper Alf Hinds spotted a dead crocodile floating along the Logan River, according to the State Library of Queensland.
A newspaper at the time reported the 3.83m crocodile had been shot a few days prior, and again earlier that year.
The dead crocodile was hauled from the river, while locals lined up to pose with it for a photo.
The Brisbane Courier published a photo showing a small schoolboy’s head next to the crocodile’s open jaws.
The croc was later skinned and its stomach revealed to contain corn, several ducks and small turtles.
Myles Sinnamon from the State Library said rumours at the time suggested the croc managed to find its way so far south thanks to two well-known Brisbane residents who were “given a crocodile as a Christmas gift, but the contents of the package mysteriously went missing”.
