An American surfer was attacked by a crocodile in the popular northern Costa Rica surfing town of Tamarindo. Tamarindo’s a regular hot spot for American surfers traveling in Costa Rica due to the mix of small-to-medium sized waves for beginners as well as some larger waves nearby. There’s also a large estuary there, one that is home to some gargantuan crocodiles that surfers have been wary of for decades.
Here’s what that estuary in Tamarindo looks like btw, via Google Maps:
The surfer was reportedly saved only by the heroic effort of his friend who fought off the attacking crocodile, but the croc still managed to bite the surfer several times in the leg and head which resulted in the partial amputation of his right ankle and a completely shredded right calf muscle.
via CBS News:
An American surfer was in serious but stable condition after he was attacked by a large crocodile at a popular tourist beach in Costa Rica on Friday, according to an emergency responder who credited the man’s friend for fighting off the reptile with his bare hands.
Pat McNulty, who works as a consultant and is a certified trained lifeguard in Tamarindo, a northwestern town favored by surfers and eco-tourists, said the man was crossing a river with the friend when the crocodile struck.
“It was a vicious attack, and he was bitten several times in the leg as well as the head,” McNulty told The Associated Press by phone from Costa Rica. “They were able to get him free, swim him to safety and then trained lifeguards responded … and we administered first aid and called an ambulance.”
McNulty said he accompanied the victim, who remained lucid after the attack, to Liberia, the provincial capital, where he underwent surgery. He declined to give specifics about the man’s injuries other than to say he suffered lower leg trauma and his condition was serious but stable.
“His friend saved his life … and then we the lifeguards helped keep him alive,” McNulty said. “It was a very traumatic scene, and all individuals attending him did a tremendous job.”
So I chose to blur out the photos because they are very, VERY GRAPHIC, and if you want to see them uncensored you can click on over to The Inertia where they’ve been published without any blurring.
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