A man visiting a zoo was attacked by a crocodile after climbing into the animal’s enclosure to pose for photographs.
On Monday, April 28, a 29-year-old man climbed over a chain-link fence at the Kabug Island Mangrove and Wetlands Park in the Philippines’ southern Zamboanga Sibugay province, holding a cell phone.
In a video obtained by ViralPress, witnesses can be heard screaming at the man and the crocodile when it bites him on the arm and holds him tightly.
Though the victim could be seen sitting still as he waited for aid, the crocodile, a female named Lalay, dragged him through the shallow water and flipped over, twisting his arm even more as he yelled in anguish.
According to local media, the man climbed into the enclosure because he believed the crocodile was not real.
“The tourist was walking around the area when he noticed the crocodile, which he thought was just a plastic fixture,” Police Staff Sergeant Joel Sajolga of the Siay Municipal Police told several sites, according to The Daily Mail.
“He climbed the fence and entered the enclosure, and the crocodile attacked him,” she said.
The Bulletin stated that the man was “mentally impaired.”
Lalay was seen rolling the victim many times in what scientists call a “death roll” – a maneuver used by many crocodilian animals to kill and break apart prey for food.
According to ViralPress and The Daily Mail, the zookeeper in charge of Lalay attempted to prevent the man from climbing the fence before entering the enclosure himself to rescue the 29-year-old, allegedly hitting the crocodile over the head with a piece of concrete to force her to open her mouth.
According to reports, paramedics were finally called to the area. The man’s right arm and leg had been bitten, so he was sent to Dr. George T. Hofer Memorial Hospital, where he received more than 50 stitches, according to the Bulletin.
“This type of behavior is really risky. Nobody should ever visit an animal enclosure at the zoo,” Sajolga told local media. “He put other people’s lives at risk and he is very lucky to have survived.”
Police told the Bulletin that the investigation into the event is still ongoing.
