CANBERRA, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Park rangers in Australia's Northern Territory (NT) are searching for a large crocodile that attacked a group of four people.
NT Health on Friday revealed that a 32-year-old man from New South Wales was injured while fishing with friends in Kakadu National Park when the crocodile, thought to be as big as five meters long, jumped into his boat earlier in April.
"He was fishing on the South Alligator river with three friends in a boat on the night of April 24," a spokesperson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"A crocodile launched into the boat, attacking his seat and injuring the man."
Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 6.5 meters in length and are more aggressive than their freshwater cousins.
The group had stopped on the river to cook dinner at the time of the attack.
The man escaped with minor injuries, for which he was treated at the nearby Jabiru Health Centre.
Adam Britton, a crocodile expert, said it was "incredibly rare" for a crocodile to launch itself into a boat.
"They have very powerful tails, they can dip the tail underneath the water and they can literally push themselves by swimming up out of the water," he said.
"I mean a five-metre croc can lift itself a good metre and a half, maybe two metres, out of the water and most boat gunnels are not as high as that."
According to a database maintained by Britton it was the sixth crocodile attack in Australia in 2021. Enditem