A man in Australia had the wake-up call of a lifetime when a crocodile chomped on his feet.
In Queensland, Australia, Manfred Van Eckeren was taking a snooze at Newell Beach, not far from Port Douglas, per 7News. The next thing he knew, a crocodile was trying to eat his feet as a snack.
"The crocodile ... came down on my foot with pretty much the force of a sledgehammer," Van Eckeren said.
7News reported that the crocodile then turned its attention to Van Eckeren's sleeping bag while still keeping a watchful eye on him. According to the outlet, he escaped and took himself to the hospital for treatment of puncture wounds and swollen ankles. The video showed bandages on the top of his feet and near his ankle.
After the event, the 65-year-old Van Eckeren told 7News that he won't try to sleep on the beach again. It stated that wildlife officers in the area encouraged the public to report crocodile sightings.
While crocodile attacks are rare, human activity has likely contributed to such occurrences. For example, the Australian Broadcast Corp. reported that another crocodile was captured at Newell Beach in 2021 after "aggressive" behavior that wildlife officers said was likely a result of being fed by humans.
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Other tourists, including in the Everglades and Mexico, have found themselves in similar situations with reptiles because of their risky behaviors.
The Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation explains that saltwater crocodiles are territorial and aggressive, going after any creature they can overpower — including humans who encroach on their space.
That includes feeding them, which can often cause more problems than it's worth. A University of New South Wales professor said that crocs are smart enough to hang around areas where they can get regular food, per The Sydney Morning Herald. That increases the likelihood of dangerous croc-human interactions.
People had a lot to say about the man's near-death experience. "If they see someone sound asleep, that's a decent meal, isn't it?" one person interviewed by 7News shared.
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Majorly 😥 In a comment under the video on Facebook, someone else said, "No matter how many times that you tell a tourist, they still keep making themselves the bait."
And another user added levity to the conversation by posting a meme of a crocodile that read, "Campers in sleeping bags are the soft tacos of Australia."
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