Darwin news reporter narrowly escapes crocodile attack

A Darwin news reporter has revealed it’s true what they say about never smiling at a crocodile, narrowly escaping the reptile's jaws.

It turns out that old adage from Peter Pan about never smiling at or getting friendly with a crocodile is true.

9 News Darwin reporter Zarisha Bradley got a shock when filming a segment today, posing for a picture with the idle reptile when it sprung out of the water, nearly catching her in its jaws.

“Can confirm it’s true what they say about giving a smile to a crocodile,” she wrote in a tweet, along with the heart-stopping footage, which she said would be included in the segment when it went to air.

“It didn’t smile back.”

“Bet that got the adrenaline pumping,” one commenter wrote, while another said it could’ve been a “Darwin lovebite”.

Can confirm it’s true what they say about giving a smile to a crocodile @9NewsDarwin pic.twitter.com/yDOep9gmbZ

— Zarisha Bradley (@ZarishaBradley9) June 5, 2020

it didn’t smile back pic.twitter.com/eIFesUPVIF

— Zarisha Bradley (@ZarishaBradley9) June 5, 2020

It could’ve been a much scarier outcome for the journo, with a 24-year-old man’s fingers needing to be reattached last month after he was attacked by a crocodile while fishing at Mandorah, across the harbour from Darwin.

A 23-year-old man in Arnhem Land also escaped serious injury in late April, after he was grabbed by a crocodile while fishing on the Glyde River.

NT Police Watch Commander Siiri Tennosaar said the man was hunting in waist-deep water when the crocodile attack him.

“He was grabbed from behind by a 1.8 metre (crocodile) and the man held onto some mangroves and the crocodile for some reason released him and swam away,” she said.

“So other than suffering some pretty deep lacerations to his upper thigh, he managed to get away with no life-threatening injuries.”

Commander Tennosaar recommended the man “go straight to get a lotto ticket”.

The narrow escape also comes following the decision not to euthanise two lions who attacked a big cat expert at a zoo on the New South Wales south coast.

Jennifer Brown was “set upon” by the pair while tending to cleaning duties inside their enclosure at Shoalhaven Zoo in North Nowra last Friday, NSW Police Superintendent Greg Moore said at the time.

The 35-year-old was mauled on the head and neck, and had “a number of lacerations and bites”, with paramedics and a specialist medical team having to “walk into a lion’s den” to save her.

Ms Brown underwent an emergency blood transfusion but is now making steady progress, Shoalhaven Zoo owner Nicholas Schilko said yesterday.