Novon Mashiah told the Sydney Daily Telegraph that he was pointing at the saltwater crocodile when it jumped out at him.

Mashiah and Doron Aviguy were working the South Alligator River in the Northern Territory in separate boats when Mashiah spotted the 13-foot crocodile. He asked Aviguy to get a photo.

"I was pointing at it when it suddenly jumped up at me," he said. "I didn't realize that crocs were so aggressive."

The crocodile jumped up on the boat but then fell into the water as Mashiah tried to put as much space between them as possible.

"I was shocked," Mashiah said. "The animal clearly wanted to kill me."

The saltwater crocodile can reach lengths of more than 20 feet. On average one to two people a year are killed by the crocodiles in Australia.