Does Australia have a crocodile problem?

During the cold months of July and August, many southern Australians head north to warmer climes. A favourite destination is north Queensland, with its jungles, rainforests, mangrove swamps and rivers. And saltwater crocodiles. David Hogbin, a 40-year-old father-of-three and GP from New South Wales, was one such sun-seeking tourists. He travelled north with his family on holiday, but will never return home. After falling into a river when a path he was walking on gave way, he was eaten by a crocodile.

Hogbin’s death is tragic, not least because he leaves behind a young family, but because this incident last Saturday was a desperate mishap. It is hard to see how he could have avoided his fate. Despite the lurid headlines about crocodile attacks in the wake of Hogbin’s death, such events are rare.

Crocodiles are themselves a big visitor draw in this part of Australia.