Australian state hands back Daintree Rainforest to traditional owners

A crocodile rests on the shore along the Daintree River in Daintree, Australia (Wilson Ring/AP)

The World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest is among four national parks to be handed back to traditional owners in a deal signed with an Australian state government.

More than 160,000 hectares of land in northern Queensland state stretching from the Daintree, north of Port Douglas, to south of Cooktown will be jointly managed before a full handover is made to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people.