A farmer in his 60s has survived a crocodile attack by biting the 3.2 meter long monster in the back.
Colin Deveraux was on his way to install fencing near the Finniss River in early October when he stopped at a billabong after seeing fish swimming there.
‘The water had receded and that was due to the dirty water in the middle. I took two steps and the dirty cock clamped down on my right foot,” he said ABC.
“It was a big grab and he shook me like a rag doll and disappeared back into the water, pulling me in.”
Mr Deveraux tried to get the crocodile to let go by kicking it in the ribs with his left foot, but when that didn’t work he bit the animal.
Colin Deveraux was on his way to do some fencing at the Finniss River (pictured) in early October when he stopped at a billabong after seeing fish swimming there. Then he was attacked by a crocodile
‘I was in such an awkward position… but my teeth accidentally hit his eyelid. It was quite thick, like holding leather, but I pulled back his eyelid and he let go,” Mr Deveraux said.
‘I had no choice (but to bite the crocodile). It all happened in about eight seconds.”
Mr. Deveraux jumped away and ran as fast as he could to his car. The crocodile initially chased him, but gave up after about four meters.
The rancher used a towel and rope to tie his leg and stop the bleeding. His brother then drove him 80 miles to the Royal Darwin Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for almost a month.
“(The) biggest problem was removing all the bad bacteria (from the injury) … so all the billabong water was full of mud, goose poop, duck poop*** and crocodile teeth (on my leg),” he said.
His foot and leg were so severely injured that the bacteria had to be flushed for ten days straight.
Doctors are now hopeful that Mr Deveraux will be able to leave hospital in the coming days after receiving a skin transplant last week.
Some of his skin died during the attack, “so they had to rip the whole skin off and put some staples around it to make everything hang properly,” he said.
Doctors “put a big skin patch over the holes… and this morning they took the bandage off and the grafts are in there really well.”
“It’s a bit of a variegated color, but the doctor is finding it very encouraging to look at so far.”
The experienced farmer realizes how lucky he was and says that the crocodile “was really in his prime, as fat as a fool… If he had bitten me somewhere else, it would have been different.”
“He could have given me arms or guts… I was quite a thug there for a while.”
He tried to get the beast to let him go by kicking it in the ribs with his left foot, and when that didn’t work he resorted to the crocodile, which is what he did to him: he bit him back. A saltwater crocodile is depicted
This horrific experience left Mr. Deveraux a changed man.
“I’ve been walking through that swamp area for too long mending fences and living, but it’s opened my eyes,” he said.
The crocodile that attacked him was later caught and ‘removed’.
“He won’t do it again,” Mr. Deveraux said.
