
A Far North Queensland family are shattered after their beloved family dog, Indie, was snatched by a crocodile during a walk.
Their ageing labrador was taken on Wednesday as the family took a walk on the lower Kamerunga Foot Bridge on the Barron River, near Cairns.
Alan Benn and his daughter Alia told 7NEWS their family was traumatised by the incident, stating Indie “didn’t stand a chance”.
“She was taken in one bite and dragged into the water,” Alia said.
Alan said the spot where Indie was taken is a popular recreation spot where families with kids often fish.
Indie the labrador was taken by a crocodile during a walk on Kamerunga Foot Bridge on the Barron River, near Cairns. Photo / Facebook
“Why should we have to be worried about bloody crocodiles?” he continued.
The attack prompted the family to post a sign by the area.
“Will a kid be next?” it asks.
Another social media post circulated to community Facebook groups also warns locals of the danger.
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“[Indie] was bigger than most kids that hang out on the bridge every day,” it read.
The area is a popular fishing spot. Photo / Facebook
“We are obviously traumatised but thankful it wasn’t our child who has stood in the exact same spot so many times before. People retrieve their lures from this spot all the time.”
While plenty were sympathetic, others said that’s just life in Far North Queensland.
“Why would you take your pet there anyway? Everyone knows that crocs have been there for years. Maybe if people didn’t fish and leave scraps, he would go elsewhere for food,” one person responded.
The family posted a sign at the site to warn others. Photo / FaceBook
“I’m so curious as to why so many people here still insist on going to waterways and creeks where it is known that crocs reside in them. It’s a risk we as knowing humans take especially living in the far north,” another wrote.
Since the Wednesday attack, contractors for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science have removed one 2.4m crocodile from the area and spotted another.
“They confirmed the presence of another estuarine crocodile in the area, and it will be targeted for removal,” the spokesman told the Cairns Post.
“They were unable to determine the size of the animal.”
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