A fisherman has gone home with a bigger catch than he should have after he reeled in an almost two-metre saltwater crocodile at a Queensland dam.
The man was night-fishing on Saturday at Peter Faust Dam, 26km inland from Proserpine in the Whitsunday region.
"He saw what he thought was a crocodile's eyes shining and moved his boat closer," a Department of Environment and Science spokesman said on Thursday.
After confirming it was a crocodile, the man captured the scaly predator then took it home.
He later alerted wildlife officers, who are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the catch.
The 1.7 metre estuarine crocodile has been taken to a zoo, with rangers warning it was capable of inflicting serious injuries, particularly when it is feeling threatened.
They've also reminded the public that it's an offence to deliberately interfere with, harm or kill a crocodile, carrying a maximum penalty of $30,026.
Saltwater or estuarine crocodiles can be found in a wide range of habitats, including rivers, estuaries, creeks, swamps, lagoons and billabongs.
They can tolerate freshwater to full-strength seawater, and have even been recorded in water twice as saline as the ocean.
Physical barriers such as escarpments and other types of rapidly rising ground generally limit the animal's upstream movement.
