CNN –
An Australian man bitten in the head by a crocodile while snorkeling in the sea off far north Queensland escaped the freak attack by snapping open the reptile’s jaws.
Marcus McGowan, a keen surfer and diver, was snorkeling with his wife and a group of friends near a remote island off the northern tip of the country when he realized something had “locked my jaw around my head”.
In a statement on Tuesday, McGowan said he immediately believed he had been bitten by a shark, “but when I reached up, I realized it was a crocodile.”
“I was able to open his jaws just enough to get my head out,” recalled the Gold Coast resident, who said the crocodile then attacked him again, but managed to push him away with his hand.
The boat that had taken McGowan’s group to the dive site near the Charles Hardy Islands, about 40 kilometers offshore, heard their screams and came to get them.
McGowan was taken to Haggerston, a resort island about 45 minutes away, and then flown by helicopter to a regional hospital. He suffered cuts and stab wounds to his head and hands.
“I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’m just grateful it was me and not one of the kids or ladies in the group,” he said in the statement.
McGowan said the attack happened so quickly that he couldn’t see the crocodile properly, but suspects it was a cub, about two to ten feet long.
According to Australia Zoo, saltwater crocodiles can grow up to six meters long and weigh up to 1,000 kilograms.
Known locally as “salties,” the reptiles are more common in the country’s warmer northern regions. According to federal government estimates, there are about 100,000 saltwater crocodiles in Australia.
According to the Queensland government, nine crocodiles have been sighted in Cape York’s Cook Shire since the beginning of this year.