One flatback per week lost to crocs at Cape Domett

September 2025

At a remote and rugged beach in the east Kimberley, around 3,250 flatback turtles nest each year. Cape Domett is a prime location for observing interspecies interactions between turtles and saltwater crocodiles, a species that was once hunted to low numbers but has bounced back after protections in the 1970s. Crocodiles are a known predator of marine turtles, who are vulnerable as adults to stealthy attacks during nesting, and as hatchlings emerging from the nest.

The North West Shelf Flatback Turtle Conservation Program conducts turtle monitoring at Cape Domett during August each year. Over three years (2021 – 2023), the impacts of crocodile predation were documented by DBCA staff and have been recently published in the journal Pacific Conservation Biology. 

Using a range of methods including beach patrols, infrared videography and drones, staff were able to capture undisturbed crocodile predation and behaviour. 

“Globally, the predation of sea turtles by crocodilians across all life stages remains poorly understood, yet technological advancements are enhancing our ability to study this phenomenon,” said lead author Dr Casper Avenant. 

From these observations, it was determined that approximately one adult flatback turtle is predated by adult crocodiles per week at Cape Domett. Insights into behaviour showed a variety of predation techniques, with one crocodile ambushing a turtle returning to the water after attempting to nest, while another attacked a turtle on the beach and dragged it into the ocean. Hatchlings were also observed being predated during emergence events by opportunistic juvenile crocodiles. 

With increasing numbers of crocodiles across the northern coastline of Australia, interactions between turtles and crocodiles are assumed to become more frequent. This study indicates that the future management of turtle populations should consider the impacts of crocodile predation, and further study on the behaviour and movements of crocodiles will help inform our understanding of these impacts at important northern turtle rookeries in Australia like Cape Domett.