A crocodile attacked and killed a wildlife worker during a feeding at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Saturday afternoon. The crocodile clamped its jaws onto the worker's legs and initiated a 'death roll,' a maneuver crocodiles use to dismember prey, while horrified bystanders watched.
Other park employees and bystanders attempted to intervene, with one worker trying to strike the crocodile while another extended a pole through the enclosure's fence. A witness, Koibuga Remdi, stated that the crocodile held onto the man for approximately an hour, and despite attempts to assist, police were called. Officers reportedly fired multiple rounds, with the crocodile dying after the eleventh shot. Following the incident, the injured worker was rescued and transported to 3 Mile General Hospital, where he died from his injuries on Sunday morning.
Park visitor Gibson John recounted that the worker was feeding the crocodile when the attack occurred, attempting to pull him into the water. John described the worker as being in severe pain and barely able to speak, with his last audible words being, "I haven't done anything wrong."
The handler had reportedly been employed at the park for about two years. According to some workers, the crocodile, which had been at the park since before Papua New Guinea's independence, had no prior history of attacking its caretakers.
The attack comes months after videos circulated on social media depicting park staff engaging in unusually close interactions with crocodiles. These videos showed workers splashing water near a crocodile's face, sitting on its back, and touching its nose while standing directly in front of its jaws during feeding demonstrations.
Adventure Park remains closed until further notice.