A crocodile believed to have torn off an elderly woman’s arm has been killed by authorities.
The 68-year-old woman was sitting near a creek bed in Western Australia’s far-north on Wednesday afternoon when the reptile launched at her from the water.
Officers from the Department of Parks and Wildlife confirmed the animal was captured and destroyed after being lured with bait on Thursday evening, ABC News reported.
The victim was found walking along a road with part of her arm missing, including her hand, after she was attacked at Three Mile Creek, north of Wyndham, in the Kimberley.
She also suffered several puncture wounds to her leg during the brutal attack.
The local woman was taken to Wyndham Hospital in a stable condition. She was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital overnight. The woman has undergone surgery and remains in a stable condition.
Local cafe owner Mike Snowball, 55, told AAP he knew the man who had discovered the woman walking along a road on the outskirts of town following the attack.
‘He just wrapped something around her arm straight away and chucked her in his truck and headed straight to hospital,’ he said.
The woman was later flown by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (pictured) to Royal Darwin Hospital
Mr Snowball said crocodiles were often seen near the town’s jetty but not Three Mile Creek, which is a relatively small body of water.
‘I’ve actually seen locals swim in there and it’s also a popular spot to get live bait for fishing,’ he said.
Mr Snowball said he was not aware of an attack this severe in the town in recent memory, but there had been several close calls.
‘There have been a few close misses and a few dogs taken and there are a lot of crocs around,’ he said.
Earlier on Thursday, a Department of Parks and Wildlife officer said he believed the crocodile was big, considering the distance it was able to cover when it launched itself from the water.
‘The crocodile launched out of the water at her, about two metres distance from the water, so it must have been quite a large crocodile to do that,’ the officer told 6PR Radio.
The officer said crocodile activity increased during the warm, wet season in the state’s north.
‘The wet season is breeding season for crocodiles so we do have higher activity this time of year, and also the water temperature has increased, they are more mobile in the heat,’ he said.
A Department of Parks and Wildlife spokesman said that a saltwater crocodile was responsible for the attack after receiving ‘visual confirmation’.
Officers tried to track down the reptile on Wednesday night using ‘spotlighting’.
‘If the opportunity arises, they will remove and destroy it,’ a spokesman said.
Resident Paul O’Neill told Seven News he believed the woman was walking her dogs from the creek gully towards the town when she was attacked.
This is the second crocodile attack Western Australia in 24 hours after a 25-year-old woman was bitten at a swimming hole in the East Kimberley.
Jackie Davies was swimming with a friend and their dogs at the Grotto, about 70 kilometres from Kununurra, when she was attacked on Tuesday afternoon.-DailyMail