Ray Stephens loves his crocodiles. But the curator of the north Queensland zoo Billabong Sanctuary can only take on so many.
"It's a bit of a housing crisis for the crocodiles, there's no rental market available here — it's solid ownership," he said.
New data from Queensland's Environment Department shows the number of estuarine crocodiles, or 'salties', captured in the state's waterways has more than doubled in the past six years, with 81 crocodiles removed from the wild last year compared to 36 in 2020.
Mr Stephens said because the reptiles were estimated to live up to 100 years in captivity, vacant spaces at the 11-hectare wildlife sanctuary were slow to open up.
"We only have so many enclosures," he said.
Queensland's Department of Environment identifies and removes so-called "problem" saltwater crocodiles that have attacked humans, that are an imminent risk, or have breached a crocodile prevention barrier on land.
A man in his 20s survived a crocodile attack at Palm Creek near Ingham earlier this week and was treated in a stable condition for back, leg and hand wounds.
A department spokesperson said rangers had "removed a crocodile following the incident".
Wildlife officers this week removed a saltwater crocodile near Ingham in north Queensland that attacked a man swimming in Palm Creek.
The man, aged in his 20s, survived and was in a stable condition with back, leg and hand wounds.
[GRAPH] Removal zones expanded
The state government is looking to bolster removals again in 2026.
In a recent update to the state's crocodile management plan, active removal zones near population centres in the state's north were expanded at Ingham, north of Townsville, Mulgrave, south of Cairns, and Mareeba, north-west of Cairns.
Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the changes would improve safety.
"If a crocodile turns up in a water body outside its typical habitat, we will target it for removal," he said.
Hinchinbrook Mayor Ramon Jayo said he lobbied the state government to step up removals at the Tyto Wetlands near Ingham, where the council was looking to increase tourism.
"If you dig a hole anywhere in Ingham a crocodile will settle in there," Cr Jayo said.
"We want them to remove those crocodiles that threaten us."
More than an attack a year
This week's non-fatal attack took the state's tally to 51 attacks in the past 41 years, which includes 15 fatalities.
Once a crocodile has been removed from the wild it is euthanased or taken to a licensed zoo or farm, where it can be harvested for commercial purposes.
But the animals are only put down if they are considered an imminent danger to people, or if relocation from remote areas is not feasible.
Euthanasia rates have remained steady for the past six years, with seven captured crocodiles euthanased last year compared to nine in 2020.
One example included rangers killing a crocodile discovered in the Mary River near Maryborough, about three hours north of Brisbane.
The animal was south of the generally accepted range, which is coastal areas north of Gladstone.
The state government estimates saltwater crocodile populations have "grown slowly" from near extinction to an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 animals since hunting was banned in the mid-1970s.
'Dynamic' populations
Wildlife Management International chief scientist Charlie Manolis said Queensland's crocodile management program was unlikely to significantly impact the total population, but may have unintended effects.
"The removal of one large crocodile might actually end up with the population increasing, by allowing more smaller ones to survive," he said.
"Crocodile populations are dynamic entities.
"Certainly, those sort of numbers in my view would be insignificant to the population as a whole."
