Man survives Croc Attack in San Pedro - guardian.bz

25 August 2011

David Tut’s injuries.David Tut, a tour guide and resident of the San Juan area of San Pedro Town, is a survivor of a crocodile attack which occurred on Saturday morning at around 2 a.m. What makes his story even more remarkable is that his neck and head was already in the jaws of the crocodile, but he managed to fight back and escape. Tut spoke to the media saying that he was in the vicinity of some mangroves near a lagoon in the San Juan area in the early hours when he heard the sounds of rapid movement. Fearing that it was someone trying to rob him, he jumped into the lagoon, but little did he know, he was putting himself in danger. As he went into the water a mature American crocodile attacked him. As any predator does, the crocodile gripped unto his neck and tried to shake him to death. Tut said that he grabbed the crocodile’s jaws and pushed hard to try to dislodge his head; the crocodile’s teeth were already ripping into the left side of his neck. Adrenaline and fear fueled Tut as he struggled with the reptile and managed to get its jaws open wide enough so he could escape. He said that he then dove into the murky waters, but the crocodile attacked again and he managed to use his hands and feet to push it away. After that second failed attack, he was able to escape; he tied his shirt around his neck to stem the flow of blood, and he stumbled home. He was immediately taken for medical attention on the island, and later transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. He suffered 4 deep puncture wounds to the left side of his neck. The American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES) was informed of the attack, and they managed to capture the suspect crocodile. It was later discovered that this particular crocodile was already relocated and tagged as “Barry”. This crocodile is already accustomed to human interaction by residents who made it a habit of feeding him, and as a result, instead of fleeing, the experts from ACES believe that this is the reason why the crocodile didn’t flee when it heard Tut. Currently, Barry’s fate will be decided by the Forestry Department, it is a decision of whether he will be relocated or euthanized.