2 days ago
Darwin man dives into crocodile infested waters in Darwin
An adrenaline junkie has been slammed online after diving headfirst, alone, into crocodile-infested waters at night.
Darwin local JC headed to Mangrove Boardwalk in central Darwin for an evening dip, with footage showing the young daredevil, dressed in a dark-coloured wetsuit and a snorkel, jumping over the railing and into the surrounding water.
@b.e.h.a.v.i.n
come join me for a swim at Darwins hidden little gem, the mangrove boardwalk
♬ original sound - BEHAVIN
Captioning his post, 'Come join me for a swim at Darwin's hidden gem, the Mangrove Boardwalk', social media users were quick to point out the obvious – JC was entering the home of saltwater crocodiles.
The video shows him swimming around the water, barely visible in the darkness except for a flashlight worn on his head, before sitting on a tree branch among the mangroves nearby.
Even local crocodile enthusiast Damian 'Wildman' Duffy was hesitant about the daring dive.
'Look, as silly as this is, the chance of a Saltie (saltwater crocodile) being here is pretty low … but it's definitely not zero,' he wrote.
'It only takes one.
'In short, f**k that entirely.'
Another added, 'Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.'
'What is he actually trying to achieve here? There's pools at the caravan park,' a third joked.
Many voiced concern for a potential run-in with the giant reptiles, and if anything were to happen not to kill the crocodile involved.
'I lived in Darwin for a few years, and these people are brave cos (sic) from what I saw up there, even the puddles have crocs in them,' one said.
'If he dies it's on him not the croc,' another added.
Crocodile expert and zoologist Grahame Webb, from Crocodylus Park, told it comes down to a 'misadventure problem'.
'Crocs are really serious predators on people – you can't sugar-coat it, they're just pretty dangerous animals,' Mr Webb said.
'It's not that people are silly, it's just they think they'll get away with something, and they do get away – obviously he got away – but it's the sort of thing you wouldn't encourage people to keep doing.
'I wouldn't anyway. It's not very clever, people are always doing things like this death defying act.'
Mr Webb said the risk of being taken by a crocodile in Darwin Harbour was low, due to successful culling efforts, but the risk still wasn't worth it.
'You don't know, (if) a croc is 100, 200 metres, 300 metres away at night, you wouldn't have a clue,' he added.
'You've got to seek advice before going swimming anywhere.
'There's some wonderful swimming pools and that's safe, and there's some wonderful places that the rangers make sure there's no crocs in … places like this where people can swim in wild places.'
