Man Bites Croc, Survives Attack.

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In the wet season the Finniss River floodplain turns bright green and is home to plenty of crocodiles.(Supplied)
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An Australian farmer says he is lucky to be alive after beating off a crocodile attack by biting back.

Cattle producer Colin Deveraux has spent a month in hospital after being bitten by the 3.2m (10ft) saltwater crocodile in the Northern Territory.

He told ABC News he bit the crocodile’s eyelid in his struggle to survive.

 

Mr Deveraux said his ordeal began after he stopped at a billabong (lake) while he was travelling to build fencing near the Finniss River last month.

The farmer, who was described as being a “veteran” in his sixties by public broadcaster ABC, had stopped by a lake after noticing fish swimming in the middle of its retreating waters.
After he stepped away again, the crocodile “latched” onto his right foot, shaking him like a “rag doll” and pulling him into the water.

“It was a big grab and he shook me like a rag doll and took off back into the water, pulling me in,” he told ABC.

Mr Deveraux told ABC he first tried kicking the crocodile in the ribs with his other foot – before biting the reptile back.

“I was in such an awkward position… but by accident my teeth caught his eyelid. It was pretty thick, like holding onto leather, but I jerked back on his eyelid and he let go.

 

“I leapt away and took off with great steps up to where my car was. He chased me for a bit, maybe four metres, but then stopped.”

Mr Deveraux said he used a towel and some rope to stop the bleeding in his leg, before his brother drove him 130km (80 miles) north to the Royal Darwin Hospital.

“Biggest problem was having to clear out all the bad bacteria [from the wound] … so all of the billabong water full of mud, goose s**t, duck s**t, and crocodile teeth marks,” he said.

“It [my foot and leg] was opened up bad and over 10 days in a row, I think, they had to flush it.”

“If he [the crocodile] had bitten me somewhere else it would have been different,” he said.

“It means I’ve got to change what I do. I’ve been walking around that swamp country too long fixing fences and living life, but it’s opened my eyes.”

He received a skin graft earlier this month and said he could feel his toes, and doctors were hopeful he could walk out of hospital this week after almost a month in hospital.

According to the local government, crocodiles are the basis for an important industry in the Northern Territory and are protected by law.

They are considered to be of huge scientific and human interest as well as a valuable tourist attraction.

 

The last fatal crocodile attack happened in April this year on the Kennedy River in Cape York Peninsula, Queensland.

Source: BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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