Sydney, AUSTRALIA: A 19-year-old on a family camping holiday in northern Australia had a lucky escape today when he fought off a crocodile which bit into his foot as he slept.
The reptile struck at about 4:30am as the group slept at their campsite in the Northern Territory.
Peter Rowsell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was woken by something "shaking" his right foot.
"I was sleeping in a mozzie (mosquito) net, and ... I woke up and there was something shaking my foot, and I woke up and had a look and it was three to four metres long," he said.
He said he hit the reptile "once or twice" on the head and it went back into the water. His screams woke his fellow campers who drove him to hospital, more than two hours' drive away.
Department of Health spokeswoman Gail Liston confirmed a man was treated in Katherine Hospital after the attack in the Douglas Daly region south of Darwin.
"He was bitten on the right foot by a crocodile," she told AFP. "He has puncture wounds."
The man's injuries were not life-threatening, she said.
Rowsell told the ABC he was not sure whether the crocodile was a freshwater variety or the larger and more feared saltwater type.
In January a crocodile bit off a woman's arm in a "death roll" at a creek in a small town in neighbouring Western Australia state.
The reptiles are common in Australia's tropical north. Numbers have increased since the introduction of protection laws in 1971, with estimates putting the Northern Territory's population in the wild at about 100,000.
In 2015 more than 250 of them were removed from waterways around Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, including a 4.25 metre-long (13.9 feet) male.
Despite the dangers they pose for swimmers, boaters and fishermen, the Australian government in 2014 rejected the idea of crocodile safari hunts -- saying there was a danger of "cruel and inhumane" behaviour.
The reptile struck at about 4:30am as the group slept at their campsite in the Northern Territory.
Peter Rowsell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation he was woken by something "shaking" his right foot.
He said he hit the reptile "once or twice" on the head and it went back into the water. His screams woke his fellow campers who drove him to hospital, more than two hours' drive away.
Advertisement
"He was bitten on the right foot by a crocodile," she told AFP. "He has puncture wounds."
Advertisement
Rowsell told the ABC he was not sure whether the crocodile was a freshwater variety or the larger and more feared saltwater type.
Advertisement
The reptiles are common in Australia's tropical north. Numbers have increased since the introduction of protection laws in 1971, with estimates putting the Northern Territory's population in the wild at about 100,000.
Advertisement
Despite the dangers they pose for swimmers, boaters and fishermen, the Australian government in 2014 rejected the idea of crocodile safari hunts -- saying there was a danger of "cruel and inhumane" behaviour.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Australian Missing Child's Remains Found After Suspected Crocodile Attack Australian Man Survives Crocodile Attack By Biting The Reptile On Its Eyelid 18-Year-Old UP Girl Dragged Into Canal By Crocodile, Search Ops On Video: Woman Tries To Jump Off Mumbai's Atal Setu, Saved By Driver, Cops Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan Kolkata Rape-Murder Case Updates: Doctors Begin 24-Hour Nationwide Strike Doctors Begin 24-Hour Nationwide Strike Over Kolkata Rape-Murder: 10 Points "Rs 2 Lakh Spent On Each Tree": Mumbai Metro Body's Revelation Sparks Row Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.