Current Trackers

Australia Zoo, in partnership with The University of Queensland (UQ), continues to undertake the largest and most comprehensive study of crocodiles in the world, with 277 crocodiles currently being tracked.  Since 2008, crocodile experts from Australia Zoo and UQ have journeyed to the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, situated in far north Queensland on the Wenlock River, for the annual crocodile research trip.

The team is continuing the important research that Steve Irwin started decades ago and, to this day, they’re still rewriting text books on this incredible apex predator that is one of the most mysterious and misunderstood animals on the planet.  All those years ago, Steve developed world-first techniques to capture, study and release crocodiles in a way that had minimal impact on the crocodile and its environment.  Now, decades later, the Australia Zoo Croc Team is still using these same techniques to capture crocodiles, take measurements and attach trackers to each one.  Every crocodile gets fitted with an acoustic tag, with a ten-year battery life, which sends information to our receivers within the Wenlock River. For those crocodiles that are large enough, a GPS tracker is also fitted to help us to better track the croc’s movements wherever they may travel, both in an out of the river system.

The aim of the study is to provide insights into crocodile habitats and their movement, to better understand how crocodiles and people can co-exist.  With more than 10 million recordings of crocodile journeys mapped out, the team is always learning more about these amazing creatures and it continues to challenge what we know about these modern-day dinosaurs.  Explore below for some interesting facts about captured and released crocs that are helping us continue our important research that contributes directly to conservation of these ancient reptiles.