ANOTHER scaly visitor has shown up at Centenary Lakes in Cairns after the recent heavy rain.

A 1.5m saltwater crocodile was seen skulking around the popular picnic spot on Thursday afternoon.

It was spotted by amateur photographer Harvey Rich.

"It looked a bit smaller than the last one that was in there," Mr Rich said.

View crocodile picture gallery.

The Cairns Post has previously reported how a 2m croc took up residence in Centenary Lakes for more than a year despite repeated efforts to trap it.

That croc has not been spotted for several months.

Mr Rich said he visited the lakes regularly and had not seen a crocodile for some time.

"I was surprised to see it (the 1.5m croc) in there," he said.

"It must have come in from the recent floods and rain."

Mr Rich said he was not concerned by the animal’s presence in an inner city park.

"Little crocs like that don’t worry me. This croc’s not endangering humans in the short-term," he said.

An Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman said the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service had not received a report about the crocodile.

"They will talk to the gentleman involved and take necessary actions from there," the spokeswoman said.

Under the new crocodile management plan crocs smaller than 2m have to be assessed as "problems" before they are removed.

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