Survivor of horror crocodile attack Todd Bairstow faces his fears

A MAN who fought off a giant crocodile that had his legs in its mouth as it tried to drag him underwater has faced his fears at a crocodile park.

A MAN who fought off a giant crocodile that had his legs in its mouth as it tried to drag him underwater has faced his fears at a crocodile park.

Todd Bairstow, 29, stunned the world in March when he defied the odds to survive a crocodile attack near Weipa on Cape York Peninsula.

For half an hour he fought a large saltwater crocodile that held him by the legs and was trying to drag him into the creek he had been fishing in moments before.

The crocodile bit off one of Mr Bairstow's fingers and both his legs were broken as the hungry reptile repeatedly went into spin, known as a death roll.

But Bairstow managed to cling to mangroves as he punched and kicked the crocodile, gouged its eyes and tried to pull its jaws apart.

Eventually, his screams were heard by a friend who managed to beat the beast off with a stick.

Now he has come face-to-face with his demons, paying a visit to Cassius, a massive 5.5m crocodile at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island,  27km off the coast from Cairns.

"I had been thinking about [crocodiles] a lot and had just finished reading a book on croc attacks so I knew I had to do something to get over mine," Mr Bairstow said.

"When I met Cassius all I could think was, hell, if he'd got me I wouldn't be here today."

Cassius will reportedly feature in the next edition of the Guinness World Records as the world's largest captive crocodile.

Read more about crocodile attack survivor faces his fears at the Sunday Mail.