A man has been caught on camera punching a crocodile as he attempted to stop it from snatching his pet dog.
Alister MacPhee, 37, was wading knee-deep in the water at the Bloomfield boat ramp, north of Port Douglas, Australia, when the predator struck, clamping its jaws down on his leg and dragging him into the water.
Mr MacPhee managed to wriggle out of the reptile's grip, but his pet Rottweiler was then immediately attacked by the croc.
In a desperate attempt to free the dog, the man desperately started throwing punches at the killer croc, but to no avail. He suffered severe injuries to his leg in the horrific attack.
Mr MacPhee was airlifted to Cairns Hospital and treated for his leg injury and has refused to speak about the traumatic incident publicly.
Environmental health and animal management officer Skye Ashworth told 9News: "The owner was punching the back of the crocodile in order to save his dog.
"But due to the size and how strong the crocodile is he wasn't able to save his dog."
Cooktown Mayor Peter Scott said Mr MacPhee was fortunate to escape with his life but it is terribly sad that he lost his pet.
He said: "This bloke was very very lucky, but at the same time he's lost what may have been his best mate so it's very very sad.
"It's awfully tragic that he's lost a dog who I think was there with him and may have been trying to protect him too."
Sadly, the dog's remains were later found inside the crocodile's stomach after it was shot dead.
Northern wildlife operations manager Michael Joyce on Friday defended killing the croc, saying public safety had to remain paramount.
"This crocodile has built an association between food and humans and that's an unacceptable risk to the community and therefore we had to act," he said, reports The Star.
"A majority of our wildlife officers are trained to shoot crocodiles from a moving vessel.
"Shooting a crocodile is a one-shot process, it is a very challenging job to do and one they train a lot to do and they are very skilled at doing."
Mr Joyce said the incident should serve as a warning to others about the dangers of crocodile-infested waters.
"Remember, warning signs are not there as decoration and swimming in croc country is a choice," he said.
