WYNDHAM , Australia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in Australia euthanized a crocodile after it bit off the arm of a 68-year-old woman it had put in a so-called "death roll."
The unidentified woman, a longtime resident of the small northwestern Australian town of Wyndham, was sitting near Three Mile Creek with her dog on Wednesday when a roughly 7-foot-long crocodile jumped from the water and bit her arm.
"It came out of the water and grabbed her and did a death roll and took her arm off near the elbow," said Michael Snowball, eyewitness and owner of a café near the scene of the incident.
A death roll is a maneuver crocodiles make in which they spin and twist to tear apart their prey.
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The woman stood in shock near a roadway until a neighbor saw her and drove her to the local hospital. She was later flown to Royal Darwin Hospital 280 miles away for surgery, where she was reported in stable condition.
The crocodile was later caught by Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife personnel.
"Because this crocodile attacked a person and was in an area used by people and pets, it was imperative that we removed it and we ensured that it was destroyed quickly and humanely," wildlife officer Peter Carstairs said.
The animal was identified as a saltwater crocodile, which can grow to 23 feet in length. The government estimates there are about 100,000 crocodiles in Australia. Their numbers have grown since protection laws were introduced in 1971. They are responsible for the deaths of two people per year on average in Australia.
