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9-Year-Old Girl Escapes Jaws of Huge Crocodile by Smashing, Scratching Its Nose

A little girl amazingly escaped the deadly jaws of a giant crocodile by attacking its face. The terrifying incident played out after the massive croc went after her as she was swimming in the Limpopo River in the southern Mozambique province of Gaza. Following the distressing attack, the 9-year-old girl spoke about how she survived.

“The crocodile grabbed me and dragged me so I hit it and scratched its nose [snout],” she said about fighting for her life. “Then the crocodile immediately released me and threw me.”

Despite miraculously getting away from the animal, the young girl’s leg was severely injured in the attack, and medical officials took her to a local hospital. According to hospital officials, the girl is now the second patient to the hospital from a crocodile attack in 2022.

In Africa, crocodiles are extremely common. There are currently five species native to the area, including the Nile crocodile, West African crocodile, West African slender-snouted crocodile, Central African slender-snouted crocodile, and the African dwarf crocodile.

According to wildlife experts, the Nile species is the biggest and most aggressive of the group. They can grow up to 14 feet in length and have been known to attack and kill hundreds of people every year. In addition, some species have grown over 20 feet in length.

The statistics about Nile crocodile attacks in South Africa

People will often see Nile crocs in the Limpopo River, which runs from South Africa to the Indian Ocean. In 2013, nearly 15,000 Nile crocodiles were released into the Limpopo from a nearby crocodile farm due to someone accidentally opening the floodgates. Today, as many as 10,000 crocodiles are still missing in the region.

Nile crocs are infamous for attacking people. From 1949 to 2016, 214 people were attacked by crocs in South Africa and Eswatini, according to reports from 2020. In Africa, Nile crocs were responsible for killing at least 48 people in 2019, per reports from CrocBITE. In addition, nearly half of all Nile crocs are fatal. Globally, all crocodile species are responsible for killing around 1,000 people every year.

According to reports, in Bawa, Mozambique, which has a population of fewer than 1,000 people, nearly 50 people have died from croc attacks in the last ten years.

In April 2018, a 25-year-old narrowly survived an attack in the same area of Gaza. According to reports, a Nile croc pulled Zanele Ndlovu from her canoe, resulting in her losing an arm.

In addition, on the Zambezi river, which runs through Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique, a Nile species attacked 18-year-old Amelie Osborn-Smith. However, her friends saved her from being dragged underwater. However, she suffered severe injuries to her hip, lower leg, and right foot. Luckily, she survived.