A 44-year-old has escaped with a minor puncture wound to his scalp after reportedly wrestling the jaws of a crocodile off his head during an attack in far north Queensland.
He also suffered with injuries on the side of his face, shoulder and finger.
Health workers say he was bitten by the crocodile near Lake Placid Road, in the Cairns suburb of Caravonica, about 12.45pm on Thursday.
Paul Sweeney, a critical care paramedic, told the Associated Press the 44-year-old was lucky the injuries weren’t “significantly worse”.
He had been swimming before he felt a “sudden impact” clasp on the top of his head that he recognised as a crocodile.“He put his hands into the jaws to prise them off his head, and when he did so and let go the jaws snapped shut onto his left forefinger,” Sweeney said.
Having freed himself, the man took a “slow swim” back to shore for help.
The man’s vital signs were good and there was minimal blood loss, and he was transported to Cairns hospital in a stable condition.
“When you consider that had the crocodile bitten into his neck or his throat where the major blood vessels are, then it could have been a fatality,” Sweeney said.
Lake Placid, a deep pool off the Barron River, is a popular park and barbecue area, about 15km from the Cairns CBD, that has had recurring problems with resident crocodiles.
Wildlife officers will conduct a site assessment and seek further information about the attack to assist with the removal of the animal.
The officers were investigating the attack on Thursday, which was the first since a man was bitten while snorkelling at Lizard Island on 23 September
