Australia posts crocodile warnings

BRISBANE, Australia, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Australian authorities have posted notices on Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Strait warning tourists to beware of crocodiles.

The signs, which went up after reported croc sightings at Deep Creek on Fraser Island and at Baffle Creek on the nearby strait, represent the first official crocodile warnings the Australian Environmental Protection Agency has issued for the regions, the Brisbane Courier and Mail reported Friday.

A spokesman for the EPA said public safety was the agency's main motivation behind posting the signs at Fraser Island's Deep Creek and Fig Tree Creek in addition to the barge departure points at Urangan, River Heads and Inskip Point.

"The nearest reported sighting (of a crocodile) has been at Fig Tree Creek on the west coast of Fraser Island," the spokesman said.