SA Horrified After Crocodile Mauls a North West 7-Year-Old Boy

• A North West boy fought for his life after a crocodile attacked him without warning while on a fishing trip with his parents
• He and his friends were playing in the shallow water of the Roodekoppies Dam when the reptile grabbed him
• His father jumped into the water and saved him and noticed that his left arm was missing, after which he was rushed to hospital

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

NORTH WEST — A little boy is in critical condition after a crocodile bit his arm off during a fishing excursion in the North West on 21 March 2025. South Africans were horrified and shaken by the incident.

What happened in the North West?

According to The Citizen, the incident happened at the Emanzini Fishing Resort at the Roodekoppies Dam. The seven-year-old boy and his friend were playing in the shallow water while his father was nearby. As they were playing, the apex predator appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the child without warning. His father heard his friend scream and immediately dove into the water.

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He tried to rescue his son and found that the crocodile had spun him three times. He held onto his son while the crocodile spun him around as well, despite being a big man. After a struggle, the man managed to free his son. But after freeing him, he was heartbroken to find that he had lost his arm. He was rushed to Mediclinic in Brits to be stabilized, and transferred by a hospital to an Alberton, Ekurhuleni hospital for specialised care.

Similar incidents where animals attacked people

• A man narrowly escaped a hippo attack in 2023 when he fell into a hippo enclosure and the animal charged at him
• A Kruger National Park tour guide wrestled a 3.5-metre crocodile in Mpumalanga and survived the ordeal in November 2024
• A tourist lost his life at the Kruger National Park in January this year when an elephant attacked his grandchildren and he died defending them

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What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on Facebook were mortified. Many slammed the family for being in the natural habitat of an apex predator.

Debra Patience Dewey said:

"I'm sorry about this, and it's a tragic accident, but the crocodile is doing what he would do naturally anywhere."

Dorothea van Tonder said:

"The father was careless to ignore the warning sign, so he must blame himself for the loss of his son's arm."

Theo Van Der Walt said:

"Everyone knows there are crocodiles. There are warning signs throughout the area."

Maroecka De Klerk said:

"I feel it was the parent's fault. Why did they choose to ignore the warning signs?"

Dale Brice said:

"Pure negligence of the parents, who only have themselves to blame."

Free state man dies after lioness mauls him

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a game farm employee died after a lioness mauled him in the Free State in June last year. He died while on duty.

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He went to close the enclosure where the lioness was when it attacked him after his colleague told him that there was a lioness in the enclosure. It bit his neck and the entire body.

Source: Briefly News