Australian Man Survives Crocodile Attack by Biting Back: Report
"It was a big grab and [the crocodile] shook me like a rag doll and took off back into the water, pulling me in," the farmer recalled
A man went toe-to-toe with a crocodile — and survived.
Australian cattle producer Colin Deveraux told Australia's ABC News that he was attacked by one of the creatures while heading toward the Finniss River to do some fencing. He said he had stopped by a lake when he saw fish acting oddly and swimming toward the middle of the pool of water.
"The water had receded and it was down to this dirty water in the middle. I took two steps and [the crocodile] latched onto my right foot," Deveraux recalled to ABC News. "It was a big grab and he shook me like a rag doll and took off back into the water, pulling me in."
However, the farmer would not let the creature win without a fight, so he kicked the creature in the ribs with his other foot and even tried to bite the animal back. By a lucky twist of fate, he said he managed to bite the crocodile in a way that made it release him.
Related: Snorkeler Fights Off Crocodile After it Clamps Jaws On His Head: ‘I Thought It Was a Shark’
"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,” he explained.
He said the whole incident happened in about eight seconds. Once the crocodile let go, that was all he needed to escape the situation, and he “leapt away and took off with great steps up to where my car was” — all with the crocodile trailing behind.
"He chased me for a bit, maybe [13 feet], but then stopped," Deveraux told ABC News.
However, he noted that he had an open wound on his right leg from where the crocodile bit him and needed to immediately address it before anything else, using a towel and some rope to create a makeshift tourniquet to help staunch the bleeding.
Related: 770-Pound Crocodile Caught at Australian Tourist Destination — The Area's Largest in Years!
His brother was able to eventually get to him and take him to Royal Darwin Hospital, located 80 miles north of where he was, per the BBC. That is where he has been staying for the past month in order to receive treatment for the injury.
He said the biggest problem with the wound was that it was infected with “all the bad bacteria” from the murky waters where the crocodile rose from.
"[My leg] was opened up [badly] and over ten days in a row, I think, they had to flush it," Deveraux said, though he noted that he was lucky the crocodile bit him on his leg as opposed to anywhere else.
Related: Snorkeler Fights Off Crocodile After it Clamps Jaws On His Head: ‘I Thought It Was a Shark’
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“If [the crocodile] had bitten me somewhere else, it would have been different,” he added.
He told ABC News that while the crocodile was “removed” from the area, the memories from the attack have stayed with him and have helped him look at his life differently: "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."
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