Man stabs crocodile in the head after being dragged into river
A Queensland man has achieved the impossible, surviving a crocodile attack that "less than zero percent" of humans usually would.
The 60-year-old man was fishing on his property in a remote section of the McIvor River last Wednesday when he was attacked by a 4 -4.5 metre crocodile.
The man escaped the potentially deadly attack by stabbing the crocodile on its head repeatedly with a pocket knife until it released him and he could get away, where he drove himself to hospital.
'Unusual' the man is still alive
Department of Environment and Science expert Matt Brien says it's a "miracle" that the man survived.
"The odds of doing that are about zero. So it's unusual that he's still here, but we're grateful that he is," he told reporters on Wednesday.
According to Dr Brein, a study of previous attacks found that humans had zero chance of survival when attacked by crocodiles more than 4 metres long by themselves. He noted that usually when people survive it's because they have another person to help them.
"Then they hold on to them, and you're able to pull them out when the crocodile tries to get a better grip," Dr Brein explained.
"So the fact that he's alive is significant, it's quite amazing, it's almost unheard of. So he's done extremely well to get out with his life."
A statement released by Queensland Environment said the man had approached a bull standing on the banks of the river where he wanted to fish from and attempted to shoo it when the crocodile lunged at him and attempted to drag him into the water.
He held onto a branch for as long as he could but eventually had to let go as the animal was too strong. As he entered the water, he managed to get the knife on his belt and stab the crocodile. Once he got away he drove to Cooktown Hospital for treatment and was later flown to the Cairns Hospital, where he is recovering.
Croc will not be removed from area
The department said due to the remote location and lack of public access, they wouldn't attempt to catch or relocate the crocodile involved.
"The crocodile was likely attracted to that location by the presence of the bull," the statement read.
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"Due to the circumstances, including the remote location of the property and that there is no public access in the vicinity, the crocodile will not be targeted for removal from the wild."
"We have no reason to remove that animal at this stage," Dr Brein said.
"However, if that changes and we're receiving information to suggest there are animals causing issues in that area we will reassess the situation."
He said north Queenslanders should always assume there were crocodiles in the water in coastal areas.
With AAP
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