Two crocodiles teamed-up to kill and dismember an Australian pensioner in a highly unusual attack, an investigation has found.
The Coroner has released its report into the attack finding the Queensland man was pulled from his boat and eaten by two crocodiles, believed to be the first time a human has been preyed upon by more than one of the reptiles.
In February 2021, retired fisherman Andrew Heard, 69, set out in his dinghy to go fishing in Hinchinbrook, Queensland.
Heard told his wife he would be back in around an hour but when he didn't show up she tried to contact him, growing concerned when he didn't respond.
She gathered together a search party, mustered up of friends, family and the Coast Guard.
At around 2:30am, almost 11 hours after Heard was due back from fishing, a friend found his dinghy with "significant" hull damage.
"A large piece of the hull was missing, and there were tooth or puncture marks visible on it," the report said.
The Department of Environment Science joined the search, finding a human leg in the creek the following day.
Two days after Heard went missing, the department euthanised a large crocodile, 4.86 metres in length, thought to be responsible for the attack. Sufficient human remains were recovered from this crocodile.
The next day a smaller female crocodile, 2.85 metres in length, was euthanised and human remains were also recovered from it.
An autopsy revealed the remains recovered in both crocodiles were Heard's.
The Department of Environment and Science said based on the evidence, it appears Heard was initially attacked by the larger male crocodile while fishing in his boat.
Heard's boat was small and sat low in the water, providing little protection and there was evidence Heard attempted to try and pull himself up out of the water onto shore at some stage, the department said.
The survival rate of humans attacked by crocodiles larger than four metres is estimated to be zero, meaning Heard "almost had no chance of survival", the department said.
It said the female crocodile likely came in once the man was killed to assist in dismemberment and consumption.
"While it is not unusual that a male crocodile would share a large meal with another female, to my knowledge this is the first time that two crocodiles have been recorded predating a human anywhere," the Department of Environment and Science said.
It noted at the time of the attack it was breeding season, making it not unusual for male and female crocodiles to be in close proximity.
Crocodile attacks in Queensland are rare, with an average of 0.3 fatalities per year - much lower than the rate of deaths from sharks.
From 1975 to 2019, there were 46 estuarine (salt water) crocodile attacks on humans in Queensland, 16 of which have been fatal.
