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THE AUSTRALIAN (Sydney) 10 August 04 Crocs tracked from space (John Sheed)
Satellite tracking of a group of crocodiles in far north Queensland has forced scientists to rethink theories about how the reptiles live.
Queensland Environment Minister John Mickel, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin and Queensland Parks and Wildlife researcher Mark Read revealed the results of a 10-month program in which large estuarine crocodiles had transmitters fastened to their backs.
Mr Irwin said at his Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast today that he was stunned by the findings of the research which he tagged "crocs in space".
He said the conventional belief for decades was that a large male dominated and ruled any area where crocodiles lived and would fight off other large males.
"I used to say in my shows that this large male was king of the river system with other subordinate males below him and a group of females," he said.
"But we just blew that out of the water.
"In one waterhole we found that we had big monster crocs all living together and sharing that area."
Dr Read, who travelled to north Queensland with Mr Irwin to catch the crocodiles and fit the transmitters, said it took only a short time to realise that all the theories no longer applied.
"Within the first week or so we started to redefine our ideas about how crocs lead their lives," Dr Read said.
"Not only do they share the same space but they can move up to 10 to 15km between water holes.
Dr Read said the program also revealed that crocodiles were capable of covering large distances and did not necessarily hang around their favourite waterhole.
In one experiment a large crocodile fitted with a transmitter was transported a considerable distance along the Queensland coast in a sling beneath a helicopter.
"But within two weeks he had swum the 50 or 60km back to where he was captured," Dr Read said.
Mr Mickel said the research was vital to help the state's adventure tourism industry.
"It is essential that we understand the wildlife we are dealing with," Mr Mickel said.
Crocs tracked from space

COURIER-MAIL (Brisbane, Australia) 14 August 04 Satellite spy reveals croc shocks (Glenis Green)
As scientific research goes, it was pretty painful. Queensland Parks and Wildlife expert Mark Read broke two ribs and even Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin fractured a finger.
But the initial results from this Queensland team's world-first project to track huge saltwater crocodiles by satellite have blown everyone out of the water.
Irwin has been "stunned" that all the long-held beliefs about croc behaviour have been proven wrong.
Far from being solitary, sedentary animals with one dominant male defending a set territory, Queensland's estuarine crocodiles have been revealed as living sociable, energetic lives.
They are also capable of walking up to 5km overland between waterholes, and have a keen homing instinct.
The project is the first time in the world that satellite technology has been used to track a group of saltwater crocodiles, and although the "Crocs in Space" project is still in its infancy, Queensland Environment Minister John Mickel is confident it will have major implications for managing crocodiles in urban areas throughout the world.
Unveiling the findings at Irwin's Australia Zoo at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast this week, Mr Mickel said the project had been a partnership between the zoo, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Queensland University.
"These prehistoric reptiles have lived a secret life for millions of years and this partnership has blown the mysteries right out of the water," he said.
"This cutting edge technology has changed our knowledge and the way we think about croc behaviour and is making the world sit up and take notice."
The project began last year when Dr Read, Irwin and other zoo staff travelled to far north Queensland where they caught several large crocodiles – dubbed Bananahead, Nesbit, Big Bad Bob and Supercroc – on which they glued specially designed, fist-sized satellite transmitters.
The exercise saw both Irwin and Dr Read suffer broken bones from the thrashing animals, which cannot be sedated safely.
Irwin's wife, Terri, said the tracking yielded amazing results in the first three months.
One of the big crocs had been moved 80km down the coast.
"He spent two weeks swimming up and down the shoreline before finding his way back to the same waterhole where we caught him – including overland treks of one and two miles," she said.
"Nesbit – the naughty, big bloke that broke Steve's finger – he's been up and down the river and overland more than a mile at a time, even out to sea and back home again."
Terri said Big Bad Bob, named after Irwin's father, had been shown continually sharing the same water as the other big crocodiles "so there is definitely more than one dominant male in a system".
Nesbit and the biggest reptile, Supercroc, also travelled long distances up and down the waterways.
Mr Mickel said the findings had ramifications for Queensland's adventure tourism industry.
"It is essential that we understand the wildlife we're dealing with, but also it's essential because crocodiles play an important part in the ecosystem, certainly in far north Queensland," he said.
He had now learnt that crocodiles ate catfish and catfish ate barramundi.
"You take one of those out of the ecosystem and you have the potential to destroy the barramundi industry in Queensland," he said.
"I get a lot of reports to say 'get rid of a crocodile out of this river system and we'll be safe'. What the research seems to indicate is that a crocodile will be replaced, so the message we are selling is that people have to be croc wise."
Dr Read said the research findings would be used to get a better idea of how crocodiles used space.
"We can then look at changing our management programs to actually reflect what the animals do . . . and therefore better manage crocodile-human interaction, minimising risk but also doing that in a way that is actually cognisant with the biology of the animals - so it's a real step forward," he said.
Within the first week or two of tracking, researchers had to redefine their notions of crocodile behaviour.
"We've spent many years thinking that we knew and then very quickly we realised that what we assumed was incorrect," Dr Read said.
He was particularly surprised to capture four large crocodiles – averaging 4m – in just one tiny waterhole "and then we missed some".
"So we are dramatically underestimating the number of big crocodiles in an area which has implications for the crocodiles and crocodile safety," he said.
The project meant that authorities could now look at managing crocodiles through information rather than guessing and thus mininise the risk to humans.
Irwin described the project as "a gift to the world".
"I was absolutely stunned at the information that came back," he said.
Satellite spy reveals croc shocks