The moment croc attacked its handler
First on 7: Astonishing video has emerged of the moment an animal trainer was bitten by a 3.7 metre crocodile and then dragged over a fence into its pond.
Handler Trent Burton just managed to tear himself loose but suffered a badly mauled hand.
Warning: While the below video is not bloody it is very confronting.
It was feeding time at Shoalhaven Zoo in Nowra, but Johnny the croc is hard to please.
Mr Burton offers the saltie a juicy steak – but it suddenly latches onto his hand and will not let go, before dragging him away.
Shocked onlookers and holidaymakers screamed as Mr Burton is slammed into the fence, before he is finally able to break free.
His left hand is mangled with three or four tooth punctures, a 10 centimetre gash in his palm and a busted knuckle on his right.
Mr Burton admits it was a big mistake to reach for the steak and said: “I don't think he actually intentionally went for my hand, the sneaky bugger grabbed it.
“A very dumb, small brain-fart on my part. It seems more dumb. Rookie, what were you doing?”
Mr Burton believes he escaped by falling on Johnny's head, startling the croc into letting go.
Col and Chris Nicoll, the couple who shot the video, find it hard viewing but cannot believe Mr Burton’s composure.
“I could not believe my eyes, fair dinkum,” said Col. "He got out, went over to the crowd ‘ok everybody, calm down’.”
Mr Burton says there are no hard feelings and they will work together again. Maybe, though, next time a little more carefully.
