Normanton's monster croc '8m long'

COULD this be Normanton's own "Loch Ness Monster", an elusive 8m giant that has residents in the Gulf thinking twice before taking out the tinnie?

Rumours of a massive croc lurking near the township of Normanton have revived memories of the famed 8.6m monster shot in the Norman River in 1957, and claimed as a world record.

Local pastor Elton Thompson sparked a frenzy last week when he produced photographs of a croc slide about 1km from town, which indicate the presence of a huge animal with a girth of up to 2m.

Now fisherman Clint Spry has revealed photos he took of a huge croc in the Norman River with a tail "as long as my boat".

"It had locked jaws with an albino crocodile and was just throwing it around like a rag doll," Mr Spry told The Sunday Mail.

"The tail on it alone was as long as my whole boat . . . 3.8 metres."

Pastor Thompson started a sensation when he put his photos of huge slide marks and claw prints on his Facebook page and relayed a story of a crocodile recently spotted at the same location that was "at least as big, if not bigger" than the legendary 8.6m Savannah King, that has a life-size replica in Normanton.

As national media outlets picked up the story, locals debated whether the croc really was that big or, well, just a crock.

One publican insists: "It's a wives' tale. There are no crocs that big near Normanton."

Others are adamant an oversize croc has been in the area for some time, growing bigger every year since Queensland banned commercial hunting in the '70s.

Long-time local Terry Cummings didn't hesitate when asked if he thought an 8m croc could be lurking in the area.

"I was here in the '50s and saw them that big," he said.

Herbie Harold, 52, who found the original slide marks and alerted his pastor, said he had seen a massive croc in the same spot once before.

The Sunday Mail enlisted Mr Harold's expertise last week in a bid to find the monster (one of Elton's photos is shown below).

Monster cow-eating croc shot

A monster 6.5m croc was killed by locals in a remote Territory Aborigine community because it was killing their cattle.
Jeida Francis, 23, said the croc was caught in Manangoora, an outstation 56km east of Borroloola in the mid '90s.
However, another earlier posting on the Internet seems to indicate the croc was in fact shot in the Albert River near Burketown, which is in Queensland. Which is only 500km away and just over the border.

Rom and Nik Whittaker have written a very interesting piece on the world's biggest crocodiles on record, which can be read here.

It reads in part: "The oft quoted 28 footer killed back in July 1957 by the Pawlowskis in the Norman River Estuary of the Gulf of Carpentaria remains just an unverified anecdote, no matter how many publications the story appears in.
"Adam Britton and I (RW) measured two of the largest saltie skulls in Australia, one called ‘Charley’ at the Darwin Croc Farm (a ‘mere’ 64.4 cm) and one shot by Terry Holtz on display at the Corrorboree Tavern near Darwin.

"This one measures 68.8 cm and is possibly the largest skull in Australia. Driving down the road we stopped in for yet another cold one at Bark Hut Inn, Annaburroo and there we found and measured just the mandible of a saltie 89.9 cm – bigger than the Corroboree mandible. Adam has heard of another croc skull in NT with a mandible of 96 cm (close to the size of the Paris Museum monster croc). The search continues for the largest Aussie skull.
"News of an estimated 22 footer has also come from the Bullo River. We did see some 16 footers and one massive slide, but the Bullo giant is still out there."
Read more about the latest NT monster croc here: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/08/05/169811_ntnews.html