“A pit bull would have done more damage”: NT tour operator hospitalised following croc attack

A Saltwater Crocodile jumping to grab meat from a tourist boat.
By Alexandra Coulton


The director of a river cruise company in the NT is recovering in hospital after he was bitten by a crocodile during a tour on Monday.

Sean Dealy of Adelaide River Cruises in Darwin told NT News he was leading his 1pm cruise when the 2.2-metre saltwater crocodile grabbed his forearm.

Dealy said he dropped a bait pole into the water while feeding birds of prey and reached down to retrieve it.

“[The crocodile] was hiding behind me. It grabbed onto my forearm. I lifted it into the air and it tried to grab me again and then fell down,” Dealy said, adding that he was keeping an eye on a larger crocodile at the time.

“It was a bit of complacency. I just didn’t really look.”

Dealy said a boat hook would normally be used to retrieve things from the water, but he reached for it himself instinctively.

According to NT News, Dealy, who is 60 years old, is still recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery to repair a severed tendon in his arm, which is expected to take six weeks to heal.

NT Police Senior Sergeant Richard Howie told ABC News the bite resulted in heavy bleeding which was controlled with the help of bystanders using a compression bandage.

Howie said a bystander then drove Dealy to Palmerston Hospital.

However, Dealy said that after the bite, he ended the tour, drove back to the ramp and saw off the 12 passengers accompanying him on the cruise before making his way to the hospital.

“I’m not stupid and I do respect crocodiles. I just reacted to pick something up quickly. I don’t normally do that, I put my arm over the side and as soon as I did that it was done,” he said.

“A pit bull would have done more damage.”

An ambulance was called to the scene to help; however, Dealy was already gone by the time it arrived, according to Perth Now.

Featured image source: iStock/swissmediavision

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