iStockphoto / Shane Bartie
A cattle farmer named Colin Deveraux has been recovering for the past month after being attacked by a 10-foot saltwater crocodile in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Deveraux is fortunate to be alive after he was attacked while fixing a fence near Finniss River. The incident occurred when he stopped to observe a fish out of water. A ‘billabong’ is a branch of a river made by flooding. He noticed a fish that was struggling in the middle of the receding billabong and got out to investigate and it was at that point the crocodile attacked.
The saltwater croc was an estimated 3.2 meters or 10.5 feet making it quite the formidable predator. Colin Deveraux told ABC News Australia “The water had receded and it was down to this dirty water in the middle. I took two steps and the dirty bastard latched onto my right foot.”
He went on to describe the brutal crocodile attack, telling ABC “It was a big grab and he shook me like a rag doll and took off back into the water, pulling me in.”
‘I jerked back on his eyelid’ – man survives crocodile attack by biting it
Speaking with the news outlet from his hospital bed, a bed he’s about to leave after a month of recovery, he explained how biting the crocodile in its eye stopped the attack. Deveraux said “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. I leapt away and took off with great steps up to where my car was.”
He went on to say the massive crocodile chased him for another 15 or so feet after he got away but soon gave up. Once he got to his vehicle he was able to use a towel and rope to create a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
Surviving the initial bite during the crocodile attack was just step 1 for Colin Deveraux. His brother then had to drive him over 80 miles to the nearest hospital (130 kilometers). And once there, the bacteria from the croc’s mouth had already gotten into his nasty wounds.
Deveraux told ABC the bacteria became his most pressing concern. He said the “biggest problem was having to clear out all the bad bacteria [from the wound] … so all of the billabong water full of mud, goose s—, duck s—, and crocodile teeth marks.”
He went on to say that his massive wound had to be reopened for 10 days in the hospital in order to flush it out to ensure the bacteria was getting cleaned out of there. After that, a skin graft helped him regain feeling in his toes once again.
All of this was made possible because he literally took a bite out of a 10.5ft saltwater crocodile’s mouth during an attack in the remote Northern Territory. This is certainly the running for the ‘Most Australian‘ story of the year. It might be a tie between this crocodile attack story and this recent story about low flying helicopters triggering a mass ‘mating’ frenzy on a croc farm.