Australian dentist Bruce Rudeforth, 59, was sitting in a dinghy in Secure May, 270 km from Derby, baiting his hook for barramundi when a nearly ten-foot saltwater crocodile lunged over the gunwale and bit into the dentist's shoulder.
If that doesn't make you shudder, what will? But in Crocodile Dundee fashion, Rudeforth struck back, according to a story in The West Australian.
"Out of the corner of my eye, this thing came at me," Dr Rudeforth said.
"It bit into my shoulder and I stood up and gave it one in the throat with my free elbow.
"I presume that's what made it let go."
The croc teetered on the gunwale for a moment. "It was a bit touch-and-go as to whether it went back into the water or came into the dinghy with us," he said. "Things were a bit tense."
Then the croc slid back in the water only to charge the pair again. The anglers smacked the croc with an oar, fired up the outboard and raced back to a larger boat , where three friends were waiting.
Another dentist on the trip used a first aid kit to stitch up the wounds.
Needless to say, Rudeforth stayed on to finish his fishing trip, despite the wound and the stitches. "It takes a lot to organise a trip like that, so why come home," he said.
Now that's an angler we can all admire. -Ned Desmond
This turtle was not so lucky in his encounter with a saltwater croc.
