A man has managed to free himself from the jaws of a large crocodile in Far North Queensland after the animal grabbed him as he walked his dog on a river bank.
The 37-year-old was attacked at the Ayton boat ramp at Bloomfield, south of Cooktown, about 5.30 yesterday afternoon.
The tourist was airlifted to Cairns Hospital where he was in a stable condition.
General manager of the Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation, Joshua Paterson, said one of his rangers happened to be driving past soon after the incident.
"He told my ranger he'd been attacked by a large crocodile after taking his dog down to the water's edge for a drink," Mr Paterson said.
"The crocodile grabbed him by the leg and he was able to get himself out of the croc's mouth and crawled up on to the ramp.
"He flagged down the ranger, who provided aid and then contacted emergency services.
"She was pretty shocked by the ordeal at the time. The man has significant wounds to his legs."
The dog was not hurt.
Mr Paterson said the area was a known crocodile habitat.
"It's always dangerous to go near the water's edge, particularly at this time of the year when the rivers are in flood (and) especially in the evening," Mr Paterson said.
"People need to be croc-wise and take the dangers very seriously.
"Crocodiles are in our region and people need to be safe, particularly when they're taking animals with them to the water's edge."
Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council mayor Bradley Creek said he was not aware of any particular crocodile presence near the Ayton boat ramp.
But he said a large crocodile had been seen at the Wujal Wujal boat ramp about 8kms away.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science said it was aware of the incident and a team was on the way to the site to investigate.
