Man suffers serious leg wounds, fights off croc after attack north of Port Douglas UPDATED:12.20PM

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David Gardiner

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The Bloomfield boat ramp area. Picture: Submitted

UPDATE 12.20PM

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE STATEMENT --

Wildlife Officers from the Department of Environment and Science (DES) will target the crocodile involved in yesterday’s incident at Ayton, 50km south of Cooktown, for removal.

Initial investigations indicate that at around 5.30pm yesterday, a man and his dog entered the water at the Bloomfield boat ramp at Ayton when a crocodile lunged forward, biting the man’s leg and dragging the dog into the water.

The man sustained lower leg injuries which required medical assistance. The status of the dog is unknown.

DES wildlife officers from Cairns are travelling to Ayton to prepare to remove the crocodile.

DES is liaising with Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council and the Queensland Police Service to gather information to assist with the ongoing response.

This is the first crocodile attack on a human in Queensland since November 2021, when a man was attacked at the McIvor River, 50km north of Cooktown.

This incident is a timely reminder for people to be Crocwise in croc country and not to be complacent with their own safety or the safety of their family or pets when they are in or near the water.

Under the Queensland Crocodile Management Plan, the Bloomfield boat ramp is in Zone E, which means that any crocodile displaying dangerous behaviour is targeted for removal.

The Bloomfield River is well known Croc Country and people in that area are reminded to be Crocwise at all times

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EARLIER: A man taking his dog to a boat ramp for a drink was attacked by a large crocodile, which according to reports, took a large bite out of his leg.

The 37-year-old was airlifted late yesterday to Cairns Hospital after the attack at the Bloomfield boat ramp, on the Bloomfield River, north of Cape Tribulation.

It's unclear if the crocodile pictured in this image which was taken at the boat ramp is the one involved in the attack. Picture: Supplied

A short time ago, a spokesman for Cairns and Hinterland Health confirmed the man remains in a stable condition in Cairns Hospital.

Both the man and his dog were able to get away from the crocodile which had dragged them into the water, according to witnesses at the scene.

A ranger who saw the attack offered first aid to the man, who was taken to the Wujal Clinic, before being airlifted to hospital.

The Queensland Ambulance Service said the man “had sustained a bite to the lower leg from a crocodile near the Bloomfield boat ramp on West Street at 5.33pm.”

“The man was airlifted to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition with multiple wounds to his lower leg.”

Locals in Bloomfield have recently posted on social media that the boat ramp has become “too dangerous” because of at least one large crocodile regularly seen at the spot.

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