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From our news website:
THREE crocodiles moved from their homes in far north Queensland are making their way back, swimming up to 30km a day.
One of the crocodiles swam around the northern tip of Australia to reach home, covering more than 400km in 20 days, a study by the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia Zoo and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) found.
Professor Craig Franklin, from UQ's School of Integrative Biology, said estuarine crocodiles were "oceanic animals" which could move phenomenal distances over a long time.
"We often thought crocodiles tired very quickly, but here we show very clearly that they are capable of moving long distances for days on end," Prof Franklin said.
The results are part of a satellite tracking study of wild crocodiles led by Dr Mark Read (QPWS), Professor Franklin and the late Steve Irwin.
All three monitored crocodiles were moved by helicopter between 52km and 130km away, but still found their way back to their capture sites.
One crocodile was flown across the Cape York Peninsula from the west to east coast, and then circumnavigated the peninsula to return home.
The crocodiles were tracked using a transmitter attached to the back of their heads that collected the data and relayed it, via satellite, back to the scientists.
Prof Franklin said crocodiles probably used many factors - such as their position to the sun, magnetic fields, sight, and smell - to navigate their way back home.
"Crocodiles are more closely related to birds than they are any other reptile, so they are possibly using navigation systems similar to birds," he said.
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