The incident occurred at Kabug Mangrove Park and Wetlands Zoo in Zamboanga Sibugay in the Philippines, and the whole thing was caught on video by a horrified onlooker. Eric Saladaga Vista is seen climbing over a chain-link fence, into the enclosure and wading through murky water, in the hopes of snapping a selfie with the very much alive crocodile, assuming it was a statue. You can imagine the tourist’s surprise when, whilst posing for photos, the fully-grown female croc, named Lalay, charges toward him, clamping her jaw around his arm. Lalay continues to grab hold of the victim’s thumb and attempt to death roll him, while he screams out in pain. It’s been reported that the tourist was trapped inside Lalay’s enclosure for 30 minutes before a croc handler was able to free him by bashing Lalay’s head with a piece of cement. The tourist was rushed to the hospital, where he received more than 50 stitches. Speaking with local media, Police Staff Sergeant Joel Sajolga of the Siay Municipal Police explained: “The tourist was walking around the area, then he saw the crocodile, which he thought was just a plastic fixture.” 

“He climbed the fence and entered the enclosure, and the crocodile attacked him.” “This kind of behaviour is very dangerous. Nobody should ever enter an animal’s enclosure at the zoo. He put other people’s lives at risk, and he is very lucky to have survived.”