Elderly Malaysian woman survives deadly crocodile encounter while collecting prawns
She had been near a jetty in Sungai Timun, preparing to disembark from her boat, when the crocodile suddenly lunged at her.
An elderly woman from Negri Sembilan had a terrifying encounter with a saltwater crocodile in an incident near the banks of Sungai Timun. This ordeal marked her first crocodile attack in 30 years of collecting prawns along the river.
Speaking to The Star, Duyong assemblyman Mohd Noor Helmy Abdul Halim said that he visited the woman - who was in her 60s - at Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital (HTJ) in Seremban after hearing about the crocodile attack.
According to him, the woman recounted that she had been near a jetty at the area, preparing to disembark from her boat when the crocodile suddenly lunged at her, attempting to drag her into the river.
The woman, who is known as "Makcik Nurkaisar", said she had never encountered such an aggressive crocodile in her decades of collecting prawns along the river. She valiantly fought off the crocodile's attack, preventing it from pulling her into the water.
Helmy, who also serves as deputy chairman of Malacca's science, technology, innovation and digital communications committee, expressed his concern about the unprecedented attack.
"It was a horrifying moment for her and fortunately she was able to overpower the crocodile," he said. "This is the first time we are hearing of a crocodile attacking a human along the river."
Following the harrowing incident, Makcik Nurkaisar underwent corrective surgery on Monday (4 September) to treat her injuries suffered during the struggle with the crocodile.
Sungai Timun, a tributary of Sungai Linggi, which is located at the borders of Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, is known to be a habitat for saltwater crocodiles.
In a study conducted in 2020, 164 observations of these crocodiles were recorded. The study revealed that these saltwater crocodiles ranged from one to five metres in length.
In Malaysia, Saltwater crocodiles are a threatened wildlife species and are fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716).
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