Crocodile Bites Six-Year-Old Boy at Beach

A six-year-old boy in Western Australia has been bitten in a rare attack on a human by a freshwater crocodile.

The incident took place on May 2 at Kununurra's Swim Beach, the Kimberley Parks and Wildlife Service said.

The Midwest Times reported that the boy who was bitten is back at home having received treatment after the reptile attacked his left leg.

A statement released by the park and wildlife service on Monday said: "On Sunday a visitor to Kununurra's Swim Beach received stitches to a bite they received from a freshwater crocodile while recreating in the area. Parks and Wildlife Service in Kununurra are conducting operations to remove a freshwater crocodile in response to the incident."

Freshwater crocodiles, which are smaller and more timid than their saltwater cousins, are not usually considered to be dangerous to humans unless provoked.

Park officials said Lake Kununurra is "zoned as a crocodile risk mitigation area and regularly patrolled" for the more dangerous saltwater crocodiles.

"Members of the public are encouraged to avoid situations where their pets or children interact with freshwater crocodiles," the park statement added.

Newsweek has contacted the Kimberley Parks and Wildlife Service for additional information.

On May 1, a huge crocodile measuring up to around 13-feet in length, jumped into a boat with four people on board and injured a 32-year-old man in northern Australia. That incident occurred in Kakady National Park in Australia's Northern Territory when a group was on a fishing trip.

The group had stopped in the middle of the South Alligator River to cook dinner on their boat when the crocodile jumped aboard and bit the seat in which the man was sitting. The 32-year-old from age city of Wollongong in the eastern state of New South Wales escaped with only minor injuries and was subsequently treated for grazes at a medical center.

Crocodiles can be found in rivers and lakes all across the world, in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. Known as "opportunistic predators", they tend to hide beneath the surface of the water, waiting for an opportunity to catch their prey. Crocodiles don't intentionally set out to attack humans, but don't discriminate when they sense a mammal is near.

Sadly, because children are smaller and easier to grab, the mortality rate of children tends to be higher than that of adults.

The saltwater and the Nile crocodiles are the most dangerous of the species towards humans, killing hundreds of people a year.