27 May 2023 , 10:42
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A brave teenager has revealed how he fought off a huge crocodile that had him in its jaws while on a fishing trip.
Zefha Butcher had a near-death experience in Australia after the croc attacked him from behind and attempted to death-roll him in the water.
The 19-year-old was fishing off Groote Eylandt, in the Northern Territory, with his 10-year-old brother and older cousin at about 8 pm when the beast pounced.
"When we were first walking in the water I saw a couple of fish swimming, then there were lots of fish everywhere, then they disappeared", Zefha told NT News.
The reptile had also been killing and threatening dogs in the area too. (NT News)He explains how he said he felt a bump on the back of his leg before the crocodile clamped its jaws around his waist.
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He continued: "It was hard, like being hit by a car. Then it grabbed me at the top of my waist between my hip bone and thigh and tried to lift me out of the water then fling me into the water in a death roll."
He said the crocodile would not let go and kept trying to drag him down into the water.
Zefha's brother and cousin rushed to the shore to seek out help as the Croc continued to try to kill him but he managed to poke the beast in the eye,
"It took a couple of tries but I was able to get with my thumb first and it didn't let go then I got it an eye with my finger and it opened its mouth", Zefha said.
Remarkably he survived the whole ordeal with just a few cuts and scrapes with bruising and bleeding from the bite marks to his legs, thighs and hand.
The teen's treatment was mainly wound sterilisation and he was sent home after several days in hospital earlier this month.
Rangers captured and killed the 5.4-metre crocodile near Milkala Beach just days after the attack - having identified the croc by the white finger mark in its eye.
The reptile had also been killing and threatening dogs in the area too.
Relatives and locals have hailed Zefha a hero after he put the welfare of his cousin and brother before himself.
Elsewhere in the world, a crocodile farmer for northern Cambodia died after he fell into an enclosure on a reptile farm holding 40 crocs.
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The Cambodian man, named only as Nam in reports, was eaten alive after he had been trying to transport a crocodile out of a cage as it had laid eggs.