An Australian man managed to save himself after being attacked by a saltwater crocodile while snorkelling at a resort.
An Australian man managed to save himself after being attacked by a saltwater crocodile while snorkelling at an upscale resort in Queensland, Australia.
Marcus McGowan, 51, told how he managed to get his head out of the jaws of the predator, suffering injuries.
He was flown to a hospital on a nearby island and then to the city of Cairns, where he received treatment.
Crocodile attacks are rare in Australia, but several have been reported in recent months.
McGowan said he was in the water with a group of people about 17 miles (28km) off Haggerstone Island near Cape York when he was bitten from behind.
“I thought it was a shark, but when I reached out I realized it was a crocodile. I was able to open its jaws just enough to knock my head off,” he said in a statement.
The alligator returned for another go, he said, but McGowan says he managed to fend it off, suffering a bite on his hand.
Queensland’s environment department said it would investigate the incident, but “crocodiles in open water can be difficult to spot as the animals often travel tens of kilometers a day”.
Haggerstone Island Resort is a unique luxury resort. The entire island, about 600km north of Cairns, is available to rent for US$7,600 (R$38,000) per night.
Crocodiles are common in the tropical north of Australia, where several attacks have recently been recorded.
In February, rangers shot a 4.2m crocodile that attacked a man and ate his dog on a remote boat ramp north of Cairns.
Earlier this month, the remains of 65-year-old fisherman Kevin Darmody were found inside a 4.1m crocodile near the Kennedy River – the 13th deadly attack in Queensland since records began in 1985.
In Queensland, ‘problem crocodiles’ are removed from areas where they threaten public safety and, in rare cases, euthanized.
Since crocodile hunting was banned in 1974, the state’s crocodile population has grown from around 5,000 animals to around 30,000 today.
Source: Terra

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