Drunken man is surprised crocodile bit him

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A 36 year-old man is recovering from surgery after his leg was seriously injured as a result of a bite from a five metre long crocodile named 'Fatso.' Michal Newman, who was intoxicated, climbed into its pen, claiming he wanted to play with it.

Newman is now in Broome Hospital, Western Australia after his skirmish with the crocodile which occurred on Monday night at the Broome Crocodile Park. "I thought to myself, 'Well, I will jump the fence and go from behind its tail and pat it and sit on its back'," Newman told ABC Radio today.

"And within like one split second before I even slightly touched its back, it already had me by my leg ...," he continued.

Experts suggest that as it is winter, the crocodile would be generally inactive at night. In warmer conditions the outcome could have been much worse.

After being grabbed by the crocodile, Newman clung to the fence and yelled at it until it let go, allowing him to scramble over the fence. Newman, nicknamed 'Crocodile Dumb-dee' by the Western Australian media, was earlier removed from a Broome tavern for drunk and disorderly conduct. After the attack however, the AAP news agency says he was allowed back in for one more drink before being taken to the hospital.

Newman says he'll never go near another crocodile again.

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Sources

"Crocodile jumper wanted close encounter" — ABC news (Australia), July 14, 2010
"Michal Newman says he wanted to play with Fatso the crocodile and was surprised it bit him" — The Australian, July 14, 2010
Broome Crocodile Park. "Malcolm Douglas Broome Crocodile Park" — Malcolm Douglas,

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