Why this photo of a tourist paddle boarding in murky water in Far North Queensland sparked a heated argument with a local
Shocking footage has captured a heated exchange between a local fisherman and a tourist who was seen paddle boarding in crocodile infested waters.
Shayne Bates was fishing when he spotted the elderly tourist near the Yorkeys Knob boat ramp in Cairns, Far North Queensland, earlier this week.
Mr Bates warned the tourist about the crocodile warning signs that had been put up and informed him about a recent sighting.
The paddle boarder didn’t appear to be interested in what Mr Bates had to say before the pair got involved in a tense shouting match.
Mr Bates uploaded footage of the exchange to TikTok on Tuesday.
‘You’re in North Queensland mate have some commonsense,’ Mr Bates said.
‘Why don’t you let me do my thing and you do yours,’ the man hit back.
‘Go ahead mate, do what you want to do. Go swim out in the ocean, but don’t blame the crocodile when you get done by it,’ Mr Bates replied.
The tourist (pictured) was captured engaging in an argument with Mr Bates and didn’t seem to be concerned by the crocodile warnings that were put around the area
He pointed out that several crocodile signs were put up at each boat ramp at the facility.
‘That’s a f***ing crocodile recently seen sign,’ Mr Bates said.
Mr Bates told Yahoo he was shocked when he noticed the man arrive at the area and put his blue stinger suit on once he got out of his car.
‘He walked down the boat ramp, jumped on his board and paddled out,’ he said.
‘Seeing him paddling in the murky water made me feel sick to my stomach.’
The clip, which has been viewed more than a million times, was flooded with comments from social media users who were baffled by the man’s behaviour.
‘The thing is the filmer [sic] is actually concerned for a random person’s wellbeing yet the other guy just wants to argue with him,’ one wrote.
‘The guy is just literally trying to save his life and he’s giving him attitude about it,’ another person wrote.
‘Yeah dude is sayin he’s good. Croc will absolutely hunt you down unlike alligators or caimans,’ a third added.
Others said said they couldn’t understand the lack of concern the man showed about the presence of crocs in the water while others said the act was simply foolish.
‘I love [how] he wears a stinger suit but doesn’t care about the crocs,’ one person wrote.
Mr Bates said he was frustrated by the entitled act as it needlessly exposes the tourist and the crocodile to danger if the man had been attacked by the beast.
‘If this old man gets chomped on, the poor darn croc is going to get shot at,’ he said.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) states that DES officers or a ‘prescribed officer’ can euthanise crocodiles under certain circumstances.
These circumstances include situations when the creature attacks a person.
Rangers also face the grim task of recovering the remains of a victim in the event a person is killed during a crocodile attack.
Visitors are urged not to use vessels such as kayaks and paddle boards in areas designated as croc country to avoid the risk of being injured or attacked.
