Google me: Dramatic escape from the giant killer of the wild

By ALEXIS GRANT


A rampaging crocodile this week snatches a 34-year-old man from his tent, then savages the grandmother who raced to the rescue.

It is a horror that will come to few of us ... but what's it like to be attacked by a four-metre crocodile?

Google "crocodile attack" to find out.

At The Age, a man who survived a crocodile attack writes: "It got me in mid-jump. I saw this blur, a flash of teeth and water as it grabbed me between the legs and took me down for a death roll."

Others did not live to tell the tale, Google shows.

A 23-year-old German backpacker was drowned after being mauled by a 4.6m 500kg crocodile while she was swimming at Kakadu National Park in northern Australia in October 2002.

And in August 2003, an American teenager on vacation in Zimbabwe was killed by a crocodile as she canoed in Mano Pools National Park.

A horse trainer in Australia claims at Igorilla that he was nearly mauled by a crocodile, but was saved by his horse.

At UnderwaterTimes.com, the daily journal of life in and around water has links to many articles about crocodile attacks, including "Croc eats tent" and "Search underway for mysterious alligator".

The most insightful headline? "No swimming or sunbathing. Violators may be eaten."

Guinness World Records at Guinness World Records, the most human lives ever claimed by a crocodile attack was 980.

That happened in 1945, when Japanese soldiers were forced to cross 16km of mangrove swamps, home to thousands of saltwater crocodiles.

Crocodile enthusiasts can read more about the attacks of these huge animals in Hugh Edwards' book, Crocodile Attack in Australia, available at Amon Online.

Edwards writes: "When the time comes to attack, the crocodile explodes from below the surface in a whirl of teeth and spray.

"It is rapid enough to catch a bird on the wing, striking quickly and fatally."

For children, have a look at Leone Peguero's book, Crocodile Attack, available at Blue Cat Books.