Sept. 26, 2007 — Saltwater crocodiles are homebodies who will travel more than 250 miles back to their stomping ground, according to a team of Australian researchers, including the late naturalist Steve Irwin.
The discovery, revealed in the journal PLOS ONE , has implications for managing problem crocodiles as it may rule out relocation as an option.
The Australian Research Council-funded study used satellite tracking technology to follow three crocodiles that were relocated from their homes in Far North Queensland.
The crocodiles were captured in the wild, anaesthetised and a battery-run tracking device attached behind their neck. They were then relocated and released.
All three crocodiles found their way back to their capture sites. In the most extreme case, one of the crocodiles swam more than 250 miles around the tip of eastern Australia in 20 days.
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University of Queensland Professor Craig Franklin said the crocodile in question was airlifted from the Wenlock River on the west of Cape York Peninsula and flown 80 miles due east and released into the ocean.
The crocodile stayed on the east coast for a few months, making small journeys. But then "it decided to go home" and arrived back at the Wenlock River "in time for Christma," said Franklin.
