A warning for Easter holidayers to exercise extreme caution has been issued after a three-metre salt water crocodile was seen inside the lagoon area of Ningaloo Marine Park.
The crocodile was seen within 15 metres of the shoreline just to the north of Pelican Point near Waroora Station.
Department of Environment and Conservation Exmouth District Manager Arvid Hogstrom said public safety was a priority but people should not panic.
?DEC has arranged aerial surveillance in order to confirm the sighting and monitor the crocodile?s activity where possible, so we can advise people where they may need to take precautions,? Mr Hogstrom said.
?With Easter coming up the Ningaloo coast is full of holidaymakers and our focus is on warning people of the potential danger while we try to confirm and locate the animal.
?If and when we find it, we will assess the situation and determine whether the crocodile can be trapped and relocated.?
Mr Hogstrom said saltwater crocodile sightings this far south were rare but had occurred before.
?The last time we saw a saltwater crocodile in this area was at Coral Bay in 2009, and it is important that people take care on the beach and do not swim in the vicinity of the reptile,? he said.
Public warnings will be erected to ensure residents and visitors are aware of the crocodile report.
Saltwater crocodiles live in coastal rivers and swamps and often frequent the open sea and around islands. They may also extend well inland along major rivers, floodplain billabongs and into freshwater rivers, creeks and swamps.
The normal distribution of saltwater crocodiles in Western Australia is from near Onslow, about 100 kilometres north of Ningaloo, up the coast to the Northern Territory border. Most are found along the Kimberley coast.
Saltwater and freshwater crocodiles are protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act and may not be killed or taken from the wild without a licence. If the crocodile reported in the marine park is determined to pose a threat to the community, DEC says it will remove it, or, if there is no other option, kill it.
Sightings of saltwater crocodiles should be reported to the DEC Exmouth District Office on 9947 8000.
SO, backpackers and fossils beware , there are also GW's , tiger sharks , bull sharks, deadly sea snakes,and crabs that NIP

Stay in Carnarvon , much safer there