A 51-year-old man snorkelling in Australia was attacked by a saltwater crocodile, and managed to escape and save his life by “ripping its jaws off his head.”
The man, identified as Marcus McGowan, was carrying out the activity with his wife and a group of friends at a resort in Queensland, off the coast of Cape York, last Saturday, when he suddenly felt something “had its jaws around his head”.
McGowan, who at first “thought it was a shark,” managed to pry the reptile’s jaws off his head during the terrifying confrontation.
“I was able to open their jaws wide enough to get my head out,” McGowan told the Queensland Government hospital service.
The man said the crocodile tried to come back to attack him again and “finish the job” but was able to protect himself with his right hand, which was later bitten off.
“I was able to escape the alligator’s clutches once more and swim to the safety of the approaching boat after they heard our cries for help,” McGowan added, saying the alligator was likely young and between 6 and 9 feet tall. long.
McGowan was rushed to Haggerstone Island approximately 45 minutes away, where a friend gave him antibiotic injections to prevent any infection from the bite wounds.
“He was then taken to a local hospital for further treatment for scalp lacerations and puncture wounds to his head and hands,” the hospital service said.
Meeting a crocodile in the water can be a dangerous situation as they are powerful predators. If you are in an area known to be inhabited by crocodiles, it is important to take action immediately to minimize the risk of attack, but it is preferable to avoid trespassing on their habitats and never swim alone.
There have been 46 crocodile attacks on humans in Queensland since 1975, including 16 fatal incidents, according to the Queensland government.
Keep reading:
· Alligator is captured in the garden of an Illinois woman
Florida police try to catch an alligator on the beach and discover that it is made of sand
They are looking for a professor who disappeared after a shark attack off the coast of Australia