Man Climbs into Crocodile Enclosure: 29-Year-Old Seriously Injured!

A 29-year-old man climbed into a crocodile’s enclosure at a zoo in the Philippines to take pictures and ended up getting attacked. The scary event happened on Monday, April 28, at the Kabug Island Mangrove and Wetlands Park in Zamboanga Sibugay province. The man, later named by Manila Bulletin, climbed over a fence while holding his phone, not knowing he was in danger.

As he got close to the crocodile, named Lalay, people nearby started shouting in panic when Lalay attacked him. The crocodile bit his arm and wouldn’t let go. Despite the man’s attempts to stay still, Lalay dragged him through shallow water and spun him around, which is how crocodiles often try to catch their prey. The man cried out in pain while Lalay twisted his arm, making his wounds worse.

Police Staff Sergeant Joel Sajolga explained that the man thought the crocodile was fake. “He saw the crocodile and thought it was just a plastic decoration,” Sajolga told news sources. “He climbed over the fence, and that’s when the crocodile attacked.”

A brave zookeeper rushed into the enclosure to help the man after trying to stop him before he climbed the fence. The zookeeper used a piece of concrete to hit Lalay on the head, which made the crocodile let go of the man.

When paramedics arrived, they found the man had serious injuries. He had bites on his right arm and leg and needed over 50 stitches at Dr. George T. Hofer Memorial Hospital, according to Manila Bulletin.

Sajolga warned, “This kind of behavior is very dangerous. No one should ever enter an animal’s enclosure at the zoo. He put other people’s lives at risk and is lucky to be alive.”

Local authorities are still looking into what happened.