Crocodile crawls into tent, bites man's leg in Australia

A young man was bitten on the leg by a crocodile while sleeping in a tent in northern Australia.

Crocodile bites 19-year-old man's leg in Australia. Illustration photo: AAP

According to AFP, the crocodile attacked Peter Rowsell, 19, at 4:30 a.m. local time, while his group was sleeping at a campsite in the Northern Territory.

"I was sleeping under a mosquito net, suddenly I woke up and something was shaking my leg. I realized it was a 3-4 meter long crocodile," he said.

Rowsell said he hit the crocodile on the head “once or twice” and it crawled back into the water. His screams woke his fellow campers and they took him to hospital, a two-hour drive away.

Health department spokeswoman Gail Liston confirmed a man was being treated at Katherine Hospital, after being attacked in the Douglas Daly area, south of Darwin.

"He was bitten on the leg by an alligator," she said, adding that the injury was not life-threatening.

According to Liston, Rowsell pitched his tent 15 metres from the Dorisvale ford. Crocodile experts at Charles Darwin University believe Rowsell was camping too close to the water."If he was camping 15 metres from the water, that's too close. To avoid crocodiles, the recommended minimum distance is 50 metres," he said.

Despite crocodiles posing a danger to swimmers, boaters and fishermen, the Australian government in 2014 rejected a proposal to allow crocodile hunting, saying it risked cruelty and inhumane practices.

According to VNE