iStockphoto / Outback to Coast
Audio By Carbonatix
While visiting Timor Leste (or East Timor) in recent months, an Australian fella who goes by Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy got up close and personal with a nearly 15ft saltwater crocodile. The clip is just now making the rounds and maybe it is the accent but this guy is eerily reminiscent of the late great Steve Irwin.
This video is a master class in conflicting messages. It is a textbook definition of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ as Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy says you should never do what he just did but is also over the moon with his encounter.
In his caption, Duffy says ‘What an absolutely humbling experience. What a privilege” that the 4.4 meter saltwater crocodile known locally as ‘Boy’ allowed him to share the same space. But Duffy goes one step further in the video and actually pulls onto Boy’s tail and briefly stops the truly massive saltwater crocodile from swimming away.
I came across this clip when someone DM’d me an article from ForTheWin about this croc and I soon started writing this article up because I found it so entertaining and only halfway through did I realize the Instagram clip is from March 29th and I have to wonder why on god’s green earth are people just now sharing this video?! That is a thousand years ago in ‘Internet time.’
Also, in doing a little research on this crocodile and Timor Leste / East Timor, I found it interesting that Damian ‘Wildman’ Duffy would put himself in this situation given the state of things there… A report from January says that attacks from saltwater crocodiles are at an all-time high in East Timor. ABC News Australia ran a lengthy evening news story on the ticking time bomb of an issue:
For those that would rather read than watch a video, this ABC News Australia article on the East Timor saltwater crocodile attack epidemic is both fascinating and educational.