ᴊᴀᴡ-ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴄʀᴏᴄᴏᴅɪʟᴇ sɴᴀᴛᴄʜᴇs sʜᴀʀᴋ ғʀᴏᴍ sᴛᴜɴɴᴇᴅ ғɪsʜᴇʀᴍᴇɴ
Geoff Trutwein and Nat Barnes had just caught a juvenile blacktip shark near Wyndham in Western Australia when a 2.5-metre-long saltwater crocodile appeared and wrestled it away from them
This is the incredible moment a gigantic crocodile snatched a shark from a fisherman’s line before swimming off into the distance.
Geoff Trutwein was on his neighbor Nat Barnes’ boat near Wyndham in Western Australia when they hooked a juvenile blacktip shark on February 21.
But, while catching the ocean predator was heart-stopping in itself, it was about to get even more insane.
Dramatic footage shows a monster 2.5-metre saltwater crocodile latching onto the catch and engaging in a tug of war with Nat.
The deadly beast refuses to let its grip slip as Nat desperately tries to reel in the shark.
And its perseverance pays off as the angler decides to give up and cut the line, allowing the crocodile to swim off with he fish to devour it on the riverbank.
Geoff, from Kununurra, Western Australia, said the huge reptiles “aren’t timid of people” and they had to be careful as they can “eat you”.
“I’ve been photographing wildlife for 30 years and I’ve seen the crocs around here a lot in my life but I’ve never had an interaction like this,” he said.
“It was shocking. It was just incredible to see something so powerful up close and personal.
“This one was only young but it was still about 2.5 metres in length. I got as close to the side of the boat as I was willing to get as I didn’t fancy losing my fingers.
“They can look pretty placid when they’re lying on the mud flaps but once this one decided he was hungry there was no way he was letting it go. They are very powerful.”
Geoff said the croc “wolfed down” the stolen shark soon after the video ended.
He added that the reptiles are “lightning fast” and “really smart.
“If you’re a regular visitor to the same spot, they’ll watch you closely and get closer and closer to you,” One day they’ll be just under the water next to you and you’ll have no idea until they’re biting your leg.”
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