Imagine your worst day at work. Did it involve almost getting your genitals bitten off during a crocodile attack? If it doesn't, you're probably not a crocodile handler. A video recently making the rounds on social media shows exactly that. The incident reportedly happened in March during a demonstration with a 15-foot croc at the Crocodile Creek theme park near Durban, South Africa.
At the beginning of the video, the handler repeatedly strokes the crocodile's nose with a stick and the croc reacts to it. It slowly tilts its head up and opens its jaw. Then, the handler pokes the croc with the same stick behind the head and on its side. Next, the camera rotates, unsuccessfully shifting from a vertical to a horizontal view. Then, the handler pulls back the stick and leans forward to pet the croc's back. And all of a sudden, the croc attacks with its massive jaws and latches onto the handler's leg.
Then, there's a bit of a struggle off-camera along with screams. What can be seen, though, is the handler trying to gain his footing with his feet as the croc muscles him around. People begin to yell "help!" That's when the handler and croc return into the frame. The croc still has the handler in its jaws as the handler tries to pull away. But also, another croc walks up. The camera quickly pulls back. And finally, the handler escapes from the croc's jaws and quickly limps away.
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What happened to the handler after the crocodile attack?
According to a report by the Daily Mail, the handler sustained a serious leg injury during the attack and was rushed to a nearby hospital where they stitched him up. Medical staff said the bite landed on " his right leg right by his genitals."
Experts told the outlet that it appeared that the crocodile "was just giving him a warning. If he wanted to kill him then trust me it could easily have." The expert called the handler "extremely lucky" that the second crocodile did not bite him. If it had, they could have fought over him, creating a sort of tug of war and torn him apart.
