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Australian
Granny Wrestlers Giant Croc - 14th October 2004
(Credit:
AFP - Discover Communications - Animal Planet)
The family of an Australian grandmother injured in
a crocodile attack told reporters Tuesday how the
60 year old jumped on the reptile's back thinking
a three-month-old baby was trapped in its jaws.
Alicia
Sorohan tackled the 4.2-meter (13.8-foot) crocodile
after it emerged from the sea and began dragging her
friend Andrew Kerr, 34, from the beachfront campsite
where he had been sleeping in a tent with his wife
Di and baby son Kelly.
"The
first thing Andrew yelled out was 'grab the baby'
so I picked up the whole bassinet and then the crocodile
started to drag Andrew out of the tent," Di Kelly
told Channel Nine.
Bill
Sorohan said he and wife were camping nearby when
they heard their friends' screams. They rushed to
investigate and Alicia leaped into action.
"She
thought the croc had the baby, so she jumped on top
of the croc and the croc actually bit right into her
right arm," he said.
With
his mother kicking the crocodile and attempting to
gouge its eyes, the Sorohan's son Jason fatally shot
the crocodile in the head with a rifle before it could
drag her into the water and finish her off with the
"death roll" characteristic of the saltwater
species.
Sorohan
suffered a broken arm for her heroics in distracting
the crocodile. Kerr sustained a broken leg, arm and
cuts and bruises.
The
pair was airlifted from the site at Bathurst Bay in
Queensland state to a hospital in Cairns, about 300
kilometers (186 miles) south, where they were reported
to be stable.
The
attack prompted crocodile hunter Mick Pitman to call
for a cull of the protected species in Queensland
state.
"We're
20 years behind everywhere else. Even in third world
countries they actually put into practice sustainable
wild harvesting of the animals to keep the population
down," Pitman told Channel Seven.
He
said beaches at Cairns, a popular spot for international
tourists, were regularly closed because of the threat
from crocodiles.
The
aggressive saltwater crocodiles inhabit swamps and
waterways throughout Australia's north. They can grow
up to 7.0 meters (23 feet) in length and can weight
more than a ton.
Pitman
said the crocodile must have had some familiarity
with humans to launch such an aggressive attack on
a campsite, which was at least 20 meters (66 feet),
from the water's edge.
"It
usually doesn't climb out of the river or the ocean
where it's in its own safety zone as far as the water
goes," he said.
"For
that thing to do that, to climb out of water and go
up to a campsite definitely shows that that croc's
been involved in human contact before."
There
have been 14 confirmed fatal crocodile attacks in
Australia in the past 27 years, most recently a 22-year-old
man taken in December 2003 as he waded in a river.
Name:
Saltwater Crocodile, aka Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus
porosus)
Primary Classification: Crocodilia (Crocodiles and
Alligators)
Location: Southeast Asia and northern Australia.
Habitat: River mouths, lakes, estuaries and shallow
coastal waters, especially near mangrove swamps.
Diet: A wide variety of animals, including fish, turtles,
mud crabs, snakes, shore and wading birds, buffalo,
domestic livestock, wild boars and monkeys.
Size: Up to 23 ft in length and 1 ton in weight.
Description: Gray, brown, black or dark olive in color;
white or yellow belly; large head; fairly long, broad
snout with deep pores; heavy-set jaw with up to 68
teeth; large, oval, plate-like scales; webbed hind
feet; powerful, striped tail with two keels.
Cool Facts: It is the largest reptile in the world,
and perhaps the most dangerous. Along with the alligator,
it is responsible for more human fatalities per year
than any other predator on Earth. Its eyes and nostrils
are located on top of its head, which allows it to
see and hear prey while partially submerged.
Conservation
Status: Common
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