A 3.5m crocodile took bites out of a fisherman’s boat engine in a Sweetheart-type attack.
The saltie made one big hole and six smaller holes in a 90-minute assault.
Recreational fisherman Dean Bennett, 22, said: “It meant business.”
The crocodile finally disappeared after being smacked over the head with a metal pole.
Mr Bennett, his 12-year-old brother Matt Davies and friend Ian Boyle were anchored at the mouth of the South Alligator River with another fishing boat on Saturday night when they heard a loud bang and splash.
“Someone else turned on a torch and there was the crocodile at the back of my boat, ” he said.
“It had taken chunks out of the engine. It didn’t just have a little nibble – it took a big bite.”
Crocodiles, which are very territorial, have been known to attack engines.
“Sweetheart” harassed fishing boats so relentlessly that rangers decided to catch him.
But the 5.1m male drowned while being captured in the Finnis River in 1979. He’s now stuffed and on display at the NT Museum.
And then there was Elvis, the crocodile who stole a lawnmower and tried to eat it.
by Vandas Voice
