Horror moment 15ft crocodile with ‘world’s most powerful bite’ sinks teeth into screaming zookeeper

8 months ago 5

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THIS is the horror moment a 15-foot crocodile sinks its teeth into a zookeeper in front of terrified onlookers.

The experienced reptile expert had been giving a display to dozens of visitors at a Crocodile Creek theme park in South Africa when he was viciously attacked.

The crocodile handler had been poking the animal with a stick when it suddenly lunged at him[/caption]

The best soon clamped its jaws around his waist and groin area[/caption]

Panic then set in when the man was dragged away and a second croc came to join the attack[/caption]

The shocked crocodile handler had been poking the beast with a stick whilst inside its closure, however, provoking it to whip its head round and take a bite.

But panic soon set in when the man-eating Nile Crocodile – the largest living reptile with the most powerful bite force in the world – would not let go.

Having clamped its jaws onto the man just below the waist, it soon pulled him to the ground before a second slightly smaller crocodile ran to join the attack.

Tourists began screaming for help before the beast eventually released its grip, allowing the zookeeper to stand up and run to safety.

A pool of blood could be seen on the floor of the enclosure at the attraction in Ballito, Kwa-Zulu Natal province, just north of Durban, as the zookeeper was rushed to the Victoria Hospital for urgent stitches.

A crocodile expert, who asked not to be named but viewed the footage, said: “The croc was just giving him a warning. If he had wanted to kill him then trust me it could easily have.

“Where he was extremely lucky is that the second crocodile which rushed in did not bite him as if it had then they could have fought over him in a tug of war and torn him apart.

“It looks like it was the handler’s lucky day and this croc was just a bit grumpy” she said.

The Reaction Unit South Africa, which provides 24-hour security and medical aid, arrived at the scene only to find that staff had already driven the handler away for A&E treatment.

A member of staff told them: “He had a serious injury to his right leg right by his genitals. If it was another inch over his future demonstrations may have been a little high pitched!”.

In September 2022, Crocodile Creek handler Sean Le Clus was also attacked when he sat on the back of their main attraction Hannibal – a huge 16ft-long Nile Crocodile.

Sean had got off the giant croc’s back as a female approached but it whipped his jaws round and savaged his leg.

Fortunately, the croc also let go of Sean, who screamed in agony as he limped off to get medical help for a number of deep teeth marks in his leg – before returning to work the same day.

It is not known if the latest attack was also carried out by Hannibal.

A Crocodile Creek spokesman said: “While I am happy the employee managed to escape and is currently stable we are concerned about the violation of protocols at the time.

“When someone goes into the pond to give a display we require them to have another employee in there with them to monitor the situation and give help if needed” he said.

Nile Crocodiles can grow to 25ft and reach speeds of over 20mph both in and out of the water.

Weighing up to 2000lbs, they are primarily ambush predators and responsible for killing thousands of humans a year.

Last week, father-of-three Anthony Joubuert, 37, had been fishing in a dam 360 miles away in Middleburg when a crocodile launched itself at him.

Although in only an inch of water, Anthony was knocked flat before the crocodile swallowed both his legs up to the waist and tried to drag him to deep water.

But Anthony’s boss, Johan, grabbed his belt and began a tug of war with the animal, before his wife, Annalize, 33, grabbed a tree root and battered the 13 foot beast over the head until it leg go.