Visitors had reportedly gathered around the animal to make offerings
Getting up close and personal with nature’s predators is all fun and games — until they behave as predatory animals naturally do…
Which is exactly what happened to one grandfather in terrifying footage caught on camera.
Captured at Cimory Dairyland centre in Indonesia on 17 February, visitors could be seen gathering around a crocodile – which had recently been rescued from a flood in the region – and making offerings. Theme park staff believed the creature to be ‘docile’, which is why members of the public were allowed to approach the animal.
However, the predator lashed out when an elderly grandfather approached him with an offer of food and dragged violently dragged the man into the water.
Visitors can be seen surrounding the animal with their arms outstretched in the clip while the unnamed grandfather – seen in the upper right of the video – is placing something into the water.
When the man places something near the crocodile’s mouth it reacts suddenly, dragging him into the water while thrashing about as witnesses at the scene can be heard screaming.
“The grandfather was bitten by a crocodile when he wanted to give him food,” witness Siti Aisyah said of the incident.
“The residents immediately evacuated him and he was rushed to a hospital because his hand was badly injured.”
Authorities later transported the man to a local hospital for treatment on his severely injured arm.
“When we arrived, residents were already crowded at the location and directed us to the victim, so the evacuation process was quick,” Fire department chief Hasanuddin said of the situation.
“We received information that this crocodile was previously seen near a landfill and had laid eggs on land,” he continued.
“If there is one female crocodile, there is likely a male crocodile still lurking around.”
The animal has since been released from the theme park by local wildlife workers.
Crocodiles are considered to be a significant threat to humans in the Southeast Asian country, which reports more attacks than any other country in the world.
The country is home to 14 different types of crocodiles, with the environmental impact of overfishing forcing the creatures further inland.
Her son was later killed by the same crocodile as he searched for remains of his mother’s body.
