A sleeping camper found himself being dragged out of his tent by a crocodile, which had clamped its jaws around his right foot.
Peter Rowsell was with his family beside a remote creek in Australia's Northern Territory when the incident occurred. Remarkably, the 19-year-old was not seriously injured and escaped with puncture marks on his right foot.
"I was sleeping in a mozzie net," he told ABC. "I woke up and there was something shaking my foot."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He estimated that the creature, who released him after he struck it on the head, was "three to four metres" – ten to 13ft - in size.
Rowsell's family rushed him to the nearest hospital, two hours' drive away in the town of Katherine, where he was treated with antibiotics in case of infection. He said he was "a bit sore".
The number of crocodile attacks has risen following the decision to end widespread culling in 1971, when numbers had dwindled. Since then, the population has exploded and the animals are finding their way into areas where they were previously not seen.
In 2014, a crocodile attacked five boys swimming in Kakadu National Park, also in the Northern Territory, killing one of them. A community spokesman said at the time that locals recalled swimming in the same spot in the 1970s and 1980s without incident.
Last year, Australia's National Parks department launched a new campaign to raise awareness of the danger, including a video with narration in English, Kriol and several Aboriginal languages.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"94026","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The English version also contains a rap warning rural residents about the dangers of spear hunting alone or letting limbs dangle over the sides of fishing boats.
Following Roswell's attack, experts have repeated official warnings to camp away from waterways.
-
Could smaller cars bring down vehicle prices?Today’s Big Question Trump seems to think so, but experts aren’t so sure
-
2025’s most notable new albumsThe Week Recommends These were some of the finest releases of the past year
-
Trump aims to take down ‘global mothership’ of climate scienceIN THE SPOTLIGHT By moving to dismantle Colorado’s National Center for Atmospheric Research, the White House says it is targeting ‘climate alarmism’
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
