An Australian farmer recently shared how he survived a crocodile attack by biting back the reptile. The attack happened last month when cattle producer Colin Deveraux was on his way to do some fencing near the Finniss River, BBC reported. The farmer, who is in his sixties, stopped by a lake when he noticed fish swimming in the middle of its receded water. All of a sudden he felt the crocodile latch onto his right foot. He first tried to kick the crocodile in the ribs with his left foot. When that didn’t work, he managed to defend himself from the beast by using his teeth to take a bite of the crocodile’s eye.
He said that he was lucky to be alive after being bitten by the 3.2m saltwater crocodile. “The dirty b**tard latched onto my right foot. It was a big grab and he shook me like a rag doll and took off back into the water, pulling me in. I was in such an awkward position. 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. He chased me for a bit, maybe four metres, but then stopped,” Mr. Deveraux toldABC.
He applied some first aid by using a towel and some rope to stop the bleeding in his leg. His brother then drove him to the Royal Darwin Hospital which was almost 130 km away.
Deveraux was left with serious wounds on his leg and has been in the hospital for the past month receiving treatment. Earlier in November, he received a skin graft on his leg.
”It all happened in about eight seconds I reckon. If he had bitten me somewhere else it would have been different. The biggest problem was having to clear out all the bad bacteria… so all of the billabong water full of mud, goose s**t, duck s**t, and crocodile teeth marks,” he added.
Doctors are hopeful Deveraux will be able to walk out of hospital this week. The farmer added that the life-changing experience has taught him to be more careful and aware of his surroundings.
He said the crocodile which attacked him would not be harming anyone else and had been “removed”. Notably, crocodiles are protected by law in the Northern Territory.
