Mozambique: Mother battles crocodile to save son from his jaws

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Mozambique: Mother battles crocodile to save son from his jaws

4:28 CAT | 30 May 2022

FILE - Illustrative photo. [File photo: Rádio Comunitária de Malema-87.9fm]

A nurse at the Malema district health centre said that mother and son were out of danger.

A mother was seriously injured in a fight with a crocodile to save her son, who also suffered serious injuries in the Malema River, Nampula province, an official source announced this Friday.

The woman went to the river to wash the dishes and take a bath, accompanied by her youngest son, who was suddenly dragged into the water by a crocodile.

“I was desperate when I realised what was happening. I entered the fray and got my son out of the crocodile’s mouth. He bit my arms and torso, but I saved our lives,” said the mother, quoted this Friday by Radio Mozambique.

The mother and son were seriously injured, said António Ipo, director of the district services for economic activities in Malema, adding that the “crocodile was killed on Thursday night”.

A nurse at the Malema district health centre, where the two victims are hospitalised, said that the pair were out of danger.

Ipo reports that at least four people have died in nine crocodile attacks on the river this year.

Conflicts with wild animals are common in rural areas, and riverbanks carry an increased risk.

According to the most recent (2020) official data from the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), a total of 97 Mozambicans died and 66 were injured in attacks by wild animals, though many attacks go unreported.

Crocodile attacks, mainly in the provinces of Tete and Zambézia, were responsible for 76 of these deaths – nearly three quarters of the total.

According to the ANAC, most crocodile fatalities occur in the rainy season months of February, January and December.

Source: Lusa