An Australian reptile handler had his thumb bitten off during a crocodile attack at a Queensland wildlife park on Sunday, leaving a large crowd of mostly families horrified.
Ian Jenkins, the 58-year-old reptile park owner, was feeding the crocodile a chicken at the Snakes Downunder Reptile Park and Zoo near Childers, south of Bundaberg, when he was attacked in front of a live audience on Sunday afternoon, Mashable reported.
Paramedics described him to be "very, very lucky to be alive" since the crocodile had almost dragged Jenkins inside the water while attempting to perform a "death roll."
At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jenkins was attempting to gain the attention of a crocodile by holding a chicken in his right hand during a commentary session of the saltwater crocodile feeding, an RACQ Careflight spokesman said.
"He's taken his hat off and was holding his hat in his left hand, when the crocodile jumped up and grabbed his hat and his left hand," the spokesman told AAP, adding that the four-meter reptile then proceeded to drag Jenkins by the hand into a pond.
Just before 1 p.m., paramedics received an emergency call about the horrific incident, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said. After the RACQ Careflight Bundaberg rescue helicopter was sent to the scene, the 58-year-old was airlifted to the Bundaberg Base Hospital in a stable condition.
"The crocodile has bitten his left hand and amputated his left thumb," the spokesperson said, adding that a section of the victim's left hand had been torn down to the wrist.
Although the audience was quite visibly distressed, it was the actions of witnesses that eventually saved Jenkins' life, Queensland paramedic Steven Bechly told 9News.
"The quick thinking of the other workers managed to save him," he said. "To get him out and get him to safety. ... He is very, very lucky to be alive today."
Meanwhile, this will not be the first time that Jenkins has survived a life-threatening incident, according to UK MailOnline.
Five years ago, Jenkins survived an eastern brown snake bite, which left him fighting for his life. He was also bitten previously by two black snakes.
"It's something that I'm not very pleased about, because I don't like to put my family through that sort of worry," he told ABC in 2010 when asked about his snake bite.
