Wildlife officers believe the killing of an experienced fisherman in Far North Queensland was the first time two crocodiles had ever been recorded hunting a human as a pair.
An Australian man who was killed by two enormous crocodiles was the first known case of two crocodiles eating a human.
Andrew Heard vanished while fishing near Hinchinbrook Island, on the north-eastern coast of Queensland and his remains were later found inside two crocodiles.
Two years later, the grim details of the fatal attack on the 69-year-old have been revealed following a coronial investigation into his death.
One of the crocs measured a whopping 15.8 feet, which coroner Christine Roney noted was more than double that of his dinghy and almost as wide.
The coroner's findings included observations from Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) wildlife officers, who concluded it was the "first time two crocodiles have been recorded predating a human ever".
The predator and a two-metre female crocodile were both euthanised, necropsied and found to contain human remains.
The DES wrote: "Based on the evidence the deceased was initially attacked and killed by the larger male crocodile while fishing in his boat [and] the female likely came in once the man was killed to assist in dismemberment and consumption.
"At this time of year [breeding season] it is not unusual for a male and a female to be in proximity and males will generally tolerate other females."
The case preceded the death of Kevin Darmody in May of this year when wildlife officers found his remains in two crocodiles after a fatal attack at Cape York in Far North Queensland.
Authorities described finding two crocodiles feeding on the remains of one human as "highly unusual" and the second and only recording of its kind since the attack on Mr Heard.
It is likely that the sounds of fishing, such as splashing was likely cause of the attack.
The survival rate of humans attacked by four-metre-plus crocodiles is "estimated to be zero", officials said in the report.
