Crocodile
Makes A Lunge For German Tourist
By Murray Wardrop
A crocodile lunged out of the water at a
terrified German tourist on the Tempisque
River in Costa Rica with its jaws open to
expose its razor-sharp teeth.
With her camera in hand, the unnamed
holidaymaker was poised to capture a close
encounter with the reptile during a boat
trip in the Central American country.
However, when a tour guide banged a stick
against the side of the boat to attract the
crocodile, the creature leapt out of the
water just inches from the woman's face.
While the woman was left in shock by the
near death experience, a tourist on another
boat managed to capture the crocodile's
menacing profile.
Paul Stodolny, 29, got his camera out when
he spotted the lazy-looking crocodile
drifting in the water and continued taking
photos as it jumped out of the water
Mr Stodolny, from Toronto, Canada, said: "I
couldn't believe it even happened, let alone
that I caught it on camera.
"The tour guide of that boat was luring the
crocodile closer by tapping a stick in the
water.
"It started to get really close and as the
tour guide pulled the stick out of the
water, the crocodile followed it.
"Before we knew it, this croc just leapt out
of the water and seemed to lunge at this
poor woman – I think her face says it all.
"Everyone on the boat gasped and bolted
backwards – it was much too close for
comfort.
"After the croc had shown them who was boss,
it disappeared back into the water as the
woman tried to catch her breath."
Mr Stodolny, who works for an animation
studio, said it was not until later that he
realized how lucky the woman was to escape
uninjured.
He said: "It all happened so quickly, it was
only when I got a chance to look at my
photos that I saw how close it actually got.
"We didn't know the woman before this, but
we actually bumped into her at a restaurant
later on in the trip and showed her the
photo.
"She said she'd never experienced anything
so scary in her life. All she could see was
teeth coming at her.
"I was thrilled to get the photo, it really
was a once-in-a lifetime shot."
Crocodile attack on tourist boat in Costa
Rica
Photo: PAUL STODOLNY / BNPS |
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