August 14, 2007

"All I could see was two sets of red eyes below me and all night I had to listen to a big bull croc bellowing a bit further out."

Man treed by crocodiles for a week.
Although [David] George's two sandwiches ran out after three days, he was able to get running water during the day and knew rescuers were looking for him as he could see helicopters in the air above his tree....

A chocolate bar, given to him by rescuers after being winched to safety, "was like a gourmet meal," he told the newspaper.

To me, a chocolate bar is a gourmet meal. And so, for a crocodile, is a 53-year-old Australian.

I await the reenactment on "I Shouldn't Be Alive." Meanwhile, one can rewatch the episode called "Blood in the Water":
Five friends enjoying a weekend fishing trip on one of Africa's wildest and remotest rivers are left fighting for their lives when a hippo suddenly attacks their boat in one of the world's most crocodile-infested rivers. Three of them manage to make it to a sandbank in the middle of the river, but the current's too strong for them to move. One of the men decides to swim for shore — the group's only chance of survival — only to be attacked by a crocodile along the way.

The people have to keep standing on the sandbank all night. Meanwhile, the guy who's attacked by a crocodile somehow has the wits to reach down the animal's throat and release the valve that prevents water from pouring in when it's trying to kill its prey in the water.

15 comments:

rhhardin said...

He's lucky it wasn't an alligator. Alligators can climb trees.

michael farris said...

"he was able to get running water during the day "

How was he able to get running water in a _tree_?

vet66 said...

Sounds like a typical date with a radical vegan feminist!

Ron said...

ah, but from the croc's POV...

"potential Bloomin' Onion evades patient, famished, noble senior crocs..."

Peter Hoh said...

How was he able to get running water in a _tree_?

I'm assuming (so you know what it's worth) that he could see when his way to and from a stream was clear during the day, but that at night, that would be too risky a trip. Going further afield through the tall grasses would have been too risky, even during the day.

ricpic said...

I just had two ears of fresh picked out of the garden corn on the cob. Now that was a gourmet meal.

michael farris said...

peter,

I was sort of assuming that too, but the story made it sound like he was in the tree the whole time.

And if that were the scenario shouldn't it should be "able to get to fresh water". Or is water in a crocodile infested stream 'running' for English or Australians?

Finally, he'd have to see pretty far and be able to haul ass. Alligators can run so fast (for short distances) that you can hardly see their feet. Are crocodiles so much slower?

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Was he wearing crocs?


We often go to Alligator Adventure when we're on vacation. Those reptiles freak me out, but my kids love it. I know it's only a chain-linked fence and being grossly overfed that keeps the gators from seeing us as a meal.

lurker2209 said...

The running water usage seemed weird to me too. I'd guess they meant that he was looking for a stream that was flowing rapidly because that would be more potable than the slower-moving water in the marsh.

Maxine Weiss said...

Ever notice how the we are seldom kept apprised of future Althouse events.

Rather, readers are simply supposed to deduce them as time progresses---from snippets of posts, certain words tossed about, or more subtly, from the timing and intervals of Althouse's postings, or lack thereof.

Deduction and inference: The key to Althouse's life and her future.

Chip Ahoy said...

Interesting labels: animals, food, TV.


It would never occur to me to attempt to deduce or infer anything at all about future Althouse events by items of interest found on BBC news.

Christopher Smith said...

the guy who's attacked by a crocodile somehow has the wits to reach down the animal's throat and release the valve that prevents water from pouring in when it's trying to kill its prey in the water.

Hey, that's cruel. Croc's gotta eat too you know.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Five friends enjoying a weekend fishing trip on one of Africa's wildest and remotest rivers are left fighting for their lives when a hippo suddenly attacks their boat in one of the world's most crocodile-infested rivers.

This is why I go fishing in Minnesota instead.

kentuckyliz said...

I didn't know about the croc-valve. So, did the swimmer guy drown the croc and escape alive?

Re what counts as gourmet. After doing a Low Iodine Diet to prepare for radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer, I had to have the things I'd been denied: dairy (esp. ice cream), eggs, cheesy things.

Last week, after my first chemo (for breast cancer), I existed on jello, saltines, pretzels, water, and vanilla ice cream (to kill the chemofire in the gut). After days of that, a grilled cheese sandwich seemed like manna from freakin' heaven.

Ann Althouse said...

I hope you are feeling better. And, yes, the guy escaped.

I had a similar experience after a C-section and a liquid diet. I though stewed tomatoes and plain steamed cod were sublime.