Welcome back to Scary Animal Attacks!
Today’s episode whisks us away to just north of Cairn, to Cooktown, Queensland, Australia.
This area is the heart of the primitive area of northern Australia, which has endeavored
to preserve this region.
The Eastern side of the peninsula, known as Cape York displays stunning jungles with biodiversity
that is unimaginable.
There are more than a dozen national parks and national forests in this locale, which
keeps populations of native animals and plants high and pristine, or as close to it as possible
in the modern day.
In this area, you will find some very curious and old tree species.
Trees like the Cycad tree, Geband Palm and the Darwin Stringy Bark tree.
Underneath their canopy you will find the Strangler Fig, which is a parasitic vine-like
plant that grows on a larger tree and ends up killing it, and you will find Stinging
trees, which are similar to North American stinging nettle, but can be the size of a
tree!
There is also a curious plant known as Black Boy trees, which look like palm trees with
grass growing on top of them.
The animals of this area include the Platypus and the echidna, wallabies and kangaroos,
Emus and Cassowaries.
There is a mind boggling array of parrots, parakeets and cockatoos, among many more,
whose brilliant colors compliment the lush plant life.
There are not a lot of predators here but there are dingos, as well as smaller marsupial
predators like quolls, dunnarts and bandicoots, as well as crocodiles.
It is in this Disney like environment that our episode takes place today.
On the evening of Friday, February twenty fourth, twenty twenty three, thirty seven
year old Alister MacPhee was visiting the Bloomfield Boat Ramp with his canine companion,
Magic Molly, who was a female rottweiler.
They were best of friends and went everywhere together, with Molly exuberantly wagging her
tail the entire time.
Down near the river’s edge, there was a large mud bank.
It seemed to beckon to Alistair to dip his toes in the murky waters.
Who knows what could be lurking beneath the muddy and completely obscured waters, but
Alistair decided to set up his camera and film him and Molly pressing their luck with
a quick swim.
There were signs posted all around the area.
Signs that warned of a significant saltwater crocodile presence in this stretch of the
river.
Signs that anyone venturing into the waters would have to ignore at risk of their own
lives.
Male saltwater crocodiles have been reported to be over 23 feet long and weigh as much
as 2200 pounds.
They are the largest crocodile species as well as the largest reptiles alive on the
planet.
They are known to prefer saltwater or brackish waters, which is where fresh and saltwater
meet.
They can live to be 70 years old and feed on everything from crabs and fish to water
buffalo, and sometimes, humans.
As Alister placed his camera on the bank, he turned toward the murky waters.
Molly joyously jumped around beside him in anticipation of the two having fun in the
water.
Alister had already taken off his clothes and was wearing a swimsuit and carefully navigated
his way across the slipper mud toward the edge of the river.
As he dipped his toes in the water he looked around to see if he could see anything concerning
or threatening.
His boldness was apparently wearing off a bit, but his foolhardiness won out.
He waded in, first ankle deep, then a little deeper, and soon was into just about knee
deep.
There was no doubt, in his mind, that a creature as large and as powerful as a saltwater crocodile
would not be able to approach him in this shallow of water without making it very obvious
to him.
Boy, was he in for a surprise!
Just as the water lapped below his knees, Molly anxiously barked and stared into the
water.
She was clearly trying to alert him to something he was unaware of, but Alister probably thought
she was just excited.
Suddenly, an enormous saltwater crocodile burst from the muddy water and clamped its
giant jaws onto his lower right leg, just below his knee.
He quickly turned to his left to escape, as its teeth dug into his flesh, but the giant
reptile was much too fast from this range and he was pulled toward the water.
As the crocs peg like teeth tore their path through Alister’s flesh, Molly ran into
the mix, putting herself in the middle of the maelstrom.
The croc immediately let go of Alister, in exchange for Molly.
She yelped in pain as the massive jaws clamped onto her body and she was pulled into the
water.
Alister, probably powered more by adrenaline than anything else, quickly jumped onto the
crocodile and began hitting it with his fist.
He punched the croc several times in the head before his reason directed him back toward
the shore and safety.
He watched as Molly helplessly disappeared beneath the muddy froth just a few feet from
the bank he now stood upon.
Alister briefly put his hands on his hips as if puzzled by what he should do next.
It was a matter of seconds before the pain of Molly’s death and the damage done to
his right lower leg set in.
He limped his way back up the shore and toward the safety of the dock.
The pain from the gash in his leg made by the crocs attack began to cripple him and
he laid on the dock near the shore hoping someone would come by soon and help him.
A ranger from the Jabalbina Yalanji Tribal Corporation soon arrived at the location.
They loaded Alister up and took him to the Wujal Wujal clinic and he was eventually flown
to Cairns Hospital where his condition was stabilized.
Officials sent out a hunting party to locate the crocodile and make sure he didn’t try
this again.
They eventually found the croc only about two hundred meters from the original attack
site on the following Thursday.
Marksmen were sent out and were charged with the task of hitting the brainstem of the croc
which is covered with leather like armor and is only the size of a fifty cent piece.
On top of that, they have to shoot it from a moving watercraft.
The hunt teams consist of spotters and pointers armed with flashlights risking their lives
in the dark, in the murky water to find the croc.
This task isn’t easy but the well trained professionals drove home a point seven six
two bullet fired from a three oh eight rifle to put an end to the crocs life.
It was estimated to be forty years old and was four point two meters long, or just shy
of fourteen feet.
They buried the croc near the river stating that he was from there and he should rest
there.
While performing a necropsy on the crocodile, the wildlife officials recovered Magic Molly’s
remains from its gut.
It consumed her whole and was in the process of digesting her when it was shot.
Alister heaped praises upon the staff at the clinic and the hospital, as well as Magic
Molly, stating that he had learned the hard way that everyone needs to be croc-wise in
croc country.
He also requested people respect his privacy and refused to discuss the attack.
Alister and Molly’s attack was the first by a crocodile in the province since May of
twenty twenty two, when a man was injured while swimming.
Critics of the preservation of crocs claim that the policy indicates not a love for crocs,
but a contempt for human life, claiming policy makers simply hate people.
The local aboriginal tribe, as well as animal rights activists sought to have charges filed
against Alister, claiming he had put their community and the crocs in a perilous situation
with his irresponsible behavior.
They say that now the rest of the croc population will become more violent due to the removal
of the large croc that sat atop the pecking order.
Either way you look at it, I see it as an unforeseen, but easily prevented dilemma.
Going into waters that crocs are known to inhabit, when the water is muddy and visibility
is nearly zero, with an animal that has to react quickly to get enough food for survival
is a reckless act.
After reviewing the details of this episode, I am wondering, Do you think the crocodile
was stalking the man and his dog?
Do you think it was an attack that was based on reaction more than the croc deliberately
hunting a human?
Do you think that Alister should face criminal charges for his behavior?
I am interested in reading your thoughts, so post your comments below, and let’s talk
about it!