Durban - Peter Watson, 73, survived a crocodile bite by the skin of his toe this week.
Watson, owner of Crocodile Creek on the North Coast of Durban, had told his assistant to go home because it was the end of the day.
An uMhlanga film crew, Earth Touch News Network who were shooting a video for National Geographic, spotted eggs that were about to hatch in one of the crocodile habitats and wanted to catch it on film.
A protective mother crocodile latched on to his foot when Watson tried to get her to move away from the eggs.
This led to Watson falling over the bank, and the crew running to his rescue.
Watson suddenly found himself on the floor of one of the habitats, with his foot inside the mouth of the 3m-long crocodile, being shaken in every direction.
The film crew recorded the attack.
“It shook me like a flippen leaf,” said Watson.
“It got a hold of my foot and started shaking me. I had already reasoned it would bite me again so I held out my arms. I had to protect my stomach and my throat… that could be fatal because it could tear my stomach out.
“I’m amazed my toe stayed on,” he added, fortunate to have limped away from the incident missing only his toenail.
Watson said he received absolutely no sympathy from his wife: “My wife is bloody annoyed, if you get bitten around here, you get no sympathy,” he said.
Sunday Tribune