A man has survived two attacks from a crocodile while diving near a luxury resort in Queensland, Australia.
Marcus McGowan, 51, was reportedly snorkelling off the Cape York coast, checking out some coral and fish and chatting with another diver when the saltwater crocodile attacked him from behind and got its jaws around his head.
“I thought it was a shark but when I reached up, I realized it was a crocodile,” he said in a media statement released by Cairns Hospital and Health Service. “I was able to lever its jaws open just far enough to get my head out.”
The croc then attacked McGowan a second time, biting his right hand as he fended off the reptile.
McGowan said he wasn’t able to estimate the exact size of the croc, but believes it was a juvenile around two to three metres long.
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles on the planet, with adult males reaching up to six metres long and weighing as much as 1,500 kilograms.
McGowan was snorkelling with his wife and a group of friends and was able to swim to the boat after the second attack. One of the friends, a firefighter, administered first aid while the boat made a 45-minute journey to Haggerstone Island.
McGowan was then transported by emergency helicopter to Thursday Island Hospital for treatment before being taken to Cairns Hospital. He suffered scalp lacerations and puncture wounds to his head and hand.
In his statement, McGowan said he was “simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time.”
“I live on the Gold Coast and am a keen surfer and diver, and understand that when you enter the marine environment, you are entering territory that belongs to potentially dangerous animals, such as sharks and crocodiles,” he added. “I’m just grateful it was me and not one of the kids or ladies in the group.”
McGowan has discussed the incident with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and has asked for the media to respect his privacy as he recovers.
In an interview with The Guardian, Billy Collett, the operations manager at Australia Reptile Park, said people who escape crocodile attacks usually do so by frightening the reptiles.
“Crocodiles are the hardest-biting animal on the planet,” he said. “But when people do fight back, they seem to let go. He probably scared the croc which realized it grabbed something too big to handle.”
Scientists are attempting to locate the crocodile but the area around Haggerstone Island is known as “croc country,” with the reptiles populating all local waterways. There have been numerous interactions between humans and crocodiles in the region this year, including the death of a 65-year-old man who was fishing at Lakefield national park in Cape York and was believed to be attacked by two crocodiles.
Police later euthanized two large crocs, measuring 4.1 metres and 2.8 metres, and found human body parts in one of the reptiles, though wildlife officers believe both were involved in the attack.
Queensland is believed to be home to about 30,000 crocs, reports BBC. The man’s death was the 13th fatal attack in the region since record-keeping began in 1985.
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