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By Robyn White
Nature Reporter
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A woman in Australia was attacked and mauled by a 16-foot saltwater crocodile while she was at work.
The 34-year-old worker at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin, a tourist attraction specializing in close-up encounters with the reptiles, had been leaning into the enclosure of resident croc Leo to place a plant inside when he attacked her arm, NT News reported.
A life-threatening-emergency alarm was set off by a worker nearby, and the injured employee was treated with a tourniquet and immediately taken to a hospital.
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Saltwater crocodiles are notorious for being territorial. They do not usually hunt humans but they will attack if they feel their territory is threatened. The crocs are known for being more aggressive than their freshwater cousins.
A tourist at the park in Darwin overheard staff discussing the incident and said that "apparently there was a lot of blood," NT News reported. Another source told the newspaper the worker was lucky she did not lose her arm.
However, a statement from St. John Ambulance said the woman was taken to hospital with noncritical injuries. The park said in a statement to NT News that it was a "minor incident."
The woman's current status is not known. The incident was confirmed by NT WorkSafe, a state government office, which said it is investigating the incident.
Newsweek has contacted the park by email for comment.
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Leo was captured in the mid-1980s at the Finniss River Station, south of Darwin, Crocosaurus Cove says on its website. The crocodile was known for attacking cattle in the area, which displeased the station's owner at the time.
The huge crocodile was eventually taken to the Darwin Crocodile Farm, but he continued to cause havoc. He regularly tried to escape from the farm and liked to fight with the other males. He was also known for chasing the handlers who worked at the farm.
"Only the most experienced handlers would even dare enter his enclosure!" the website said. Not only is Leo long but he weighs 1,653 pounds.
Saltwater crocodiles have a recorded "live" bite of 3,700 pounds per square inch, the most powerful bite of any animal. For this reason, they can cause serious injuries. However, attacks remain rare. In 2017, government data estimated there was roughly one attack every year in a 33-year period, starting from 1985.
In the wild, certain crocodiles can appear more aggressive than others. This is usually when they become "food conditioned," meaning they get used to food fed to them by humans and lose their natural fear of people.
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