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Crocodile egg collector attacked by massive reptile on remote NT river deteriorates to critical condition
- A man was attacked by a crocodile in the NT
- He was a crocodile egg collector.
- He has been transferred to a Sydney hospital.
A brutally mutilated crocodile egg collector at work he has been rushed to Sydney following his deteriorating condition.
On Thursday, the 29-year-old man was savagely attacked by a monstrous crocodile near a station along the Daly River, south of Darwin.
He suffered serious injuries when the crocodile grabbed his leg before he managed to break free from its deadly jaws.
The man was airlifted by private helicopter out of the remote area and then transported to Royal Darwin Hospital by St John Ambulance.
The 29-year-old man sustained serious injuries when a crocodile clung to his leg (file image)
Northern Territory Police initially said the man’s injuries were not considered life-threatening and he was undergoing emergency surgery at hospital.
However, on Friday, a spokesman for NT Health said the man’s condition had dramatically worsened, now listing him as critical.
He has since been transferred to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.
A hospital spokeswoman said he remained in serious but stable condition.
The man is understood to have been employed by a crocodile egg collection operator and NT WorkSafe is investigating the incident.
The man was attacked while collecting crocodile eggs (pictured, file image), which can be obtained by licensed collectors in the NT
Harvesting estuarine crocodile eggs was legalized in 2018 under a commercial wildlife harvesting license subject to strict requirements.
Alligator egg collectors can earn $30 per egg, which can bring in $1,800 from a single nest of up to 60 eggs.
Licensed collectors often rope down from helicopters to remove the eggs from the nests, which appear as mounds of mulch on the banks of rivers.
They are then transported to crocodile farms where they are raised and then slaughtered to make luxury crocodile leather products.
The crocodile egg collector was savagely attacked by one of the giant reptiles near a station along the River Daly, south of Darwin (file image)
Luxury French fashion houses like Hermes have contracts with various NT crocodile farms.
According to the NT government’s Crocwise campaign, while crocodile attacks are rare, they do occur and the risk is highest in the nesting season between September and May if the animal feels that it or its nests are being threatened.
A cast member of the adventure television series Outback Wrangler who died last year in a helicopter crash in the Northern Territory was hanging from a sling to collect crocodile eggs.
Chris Wilson, 34, died on February 28 when the helicopter struck trees and the ground in West Arnhem Land, in the northeast corner of the NT.
Wilson was attached to the line using a harness so he could collect eggs from hard-to-reach crocodile nests.
The NT is home to the world’s largest wild crocodile population, with more than 100,000 giant predators in the wild.