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A mother managed to rescue her three-year-old son from a crocodile’s jaws by pressing on its nose to weaken the animal.
The reptile got a hold of Gideon when he was playing on a riverbank in Zimbabwe, Africa, as per ZBC News via Zimbabwe newspaper The Herald on April 15.
His mother, Maurina Musisinyana, was fishing along the river near Gonarezhou National Park when the incident happened. However, she only found out about the attack when her sister-in-law, who accompanied her, began screaming.
“We only [realized] this when the crocodile was already dragging Gideon into the river,” the 30-year-old mom was quoted as saying.
“I immediately rushed to the scene,” she explained. “My son had been shielding himself from the sun with an umbrella, so upon arrival at the scene, I noticed the umbrella floating in the river and went straight there to locate him and the crocodile.”
When she spotted the reptile and her son, she pressed hard on its nose. Musisinyana learned the technique from elders, saying that suffocating the crocodile from its nose will make it lose its strength.
Once the animal weakened, the mother used her other arm to free Gideon’s head from its jaws. According to the report, the crocodile had ended up biting her hand when she saved her son. Following the attack, Musisinyana immediately rushed home to seek help and Gideon was eventually brought to a hospital.
Health professionals explained that the child had sustained injuries to his face and was “bleeding profusely,” which led him to experience difficulty when breathing.
Despite his injuries, as per report, the doctors said Gideon was in stable condition after the attack. Ryan Arcadio/JB
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