# Think twice if a crocodile asks, "Gimme a hand, will ya?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804 "2007-04-12T14:31:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/1 "2007-04-12T14:31:25Z")
**Warning–impending carnage** Bleary-eyed and yawning, I was checking my yahoo homepage this morning to see if any interesting subject lines were in my inbox. “That sure looks like a [crocodile with a severed human hand in its mouth](http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070412/ids_photos_wl/r1292165505.jpg) there in the _Most Emailed Photos_ section.”, I thought to myself. Sure enough, there was even a [second shot from a more gruesome angle](http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070412/481/tpe80404121015) just to make sure a few folks skip breakfast this morning. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/2 "2007-04-12T14:36:56Z")
“Whatever became of Thing from the Addams family?” Seriously, though, I feel really sorry for the vet who lost that hand. Serious bummer. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/3 "2007-04-12T14:50:31Z")
Ugh. How long before Yahoo yanks those photos and replaces them with Knut? How awful. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/4 "2007-04-12T15:27:17Z")
**Sattua** , in my sleep-deprived state, it took me a moment to realize that you typed “Knut.” Fortunately I was not drinking coffee. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/5 "2007-04-12T15:27:24Z")
Yeesh. How horrible. Poor guy. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/6 "2007-04-12T15:30:50Z")
… And the scorpion says “It’s just my nature”. ---
**Author:** ![Ellef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8dc957/32.png) [@Ellef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellef)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/7 "2007-04-12T16:05:15Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] “Whatever became of Thing from the Addams family?” Seriously, though, I feel really sorry for the vet who lost that hand. Serious bummer. [/QUOTE] It’s been sewn back on: > **[Latest news & breaking headlines](https://www.thetimes.com/)** > > The latest breaking UK, US, world, business and sport news from The Times and The Sunday Times. Go beyond today's headlines with in-depth analysis and comment. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/8 "2007-04-12T16:27:43Z")
Ick again. Is it better to have a numb, non-functioning forearm, or no forearm at all? I suspect I’d choose no forearm at all. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/9 "2007-04-12T16:29:12Z")
Reminds me of that John Irving book. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/10 "2007-04-12T16:35:03Z")
That croc looks oh so smug ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/11 "2007-04-12T17:00:21Z")
From **Ellef’s** link: > [@](#): > > A zookeeper in Taiwan has undergone seven hours of surgery to have his arm reattached after it was bitten off by a crocodile, while another zoo worker in Argentina was today fighting for her life **following a freak attack by an anteater.** [Professor Farnsworth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthology_of_Interest_I#Act_1) really should be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/12 "2007-04-12T17:03:16Z")
#1: Crocodiles get a LOT bigger than I thought. #2. But they’re still not as dangerous as grizzly bears. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/13 "2007-04-12T18:05:56Z")
Aaaaaand the croc pictures have been replaced by baby elephants, on Yahoo’s “most emailed.” Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/14 "2007-04-12T19:16:39Z")
Forget the croc, didja read this part: > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, in Argentina, the TV channel America, reported that a sudden and brutal attack by an anteater had severely damaged a female zookeeper’s stomach, liver and lungs at a zoo in Buenos Aires. > > Utilising its long claws, the creature tore into the vet, who has not been named, and left her in a critical condition. > > “The woman’s condition is very serious,” Jose Potito, director of the hospital where the woman was being treated, told the station. > > Anteaters, which can measure up to 9.2 feet long and weigh as much as 110 pounds, are natives to Latin America and have toothless snouts. > > The species, which are endangered according to the Argentine Wildlife Foundation, are usually not aggressive, but their long, knife-like claws can do serious damage to predators when they defend themselves. > > A worker at the zoo told the television station that the attack was an accident, and said _ **the animal was not punished in response.** _ How the hell do you punish an anteater? Give it a time out? Spank it on the bum? No chocolate covered ants for you! ?!?!?! 😕😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/15 "2007-04-12T19:48:36Z")
#3: _Anteaters_ are a lot bigger than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/16 "2007-04-12T19:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] #1: Crocodiles get a LOT bigger than I thought. [/QUOTE] Unless the vet had an outlandishly large hand, that isn’t a particularly big crocodile. ---
**Author:** ![AngryIrishLass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bbce88/32.png) [@AngryIrishLass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngryIrishLass)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/17 "2007-04-12T22:16:52Z")
Could he not hear the tick tock? ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/18 "2007-04-13T02:47:18Z")
Who the heck was standing around taking pictures? ICK! I’d have dropped the camera and gone for help for the poor vet… sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/19 "2007-04-13T03:00:02Z")
I suppose his first mistake was smiling at the crocodile, but what did him in was dipping his hat and stopping to talk awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/20 "2007-04-13T03:35:12Z")
Why in the good god would you use a tranquilizer dart on a Nile crocodile in the first place? My understanding is that anesthetizing large reptiles is a dodgy proposition to begin with, even under the best of circumstances; since their tissues don’t metabolize anesthetic agents at the same rate as a warm-blooded animal, there’s a fairly narrow window between anesthesia and euthanasia. Plus, if a croc’s hide is thick enough to deflect bullets, how can you be sure if a dart has delivered its contents completely? Lastly, why was the croc even able to bite the guy? Shouldn’t the jaws have been secured with a pole snare or something beforehand? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804.md?page=2)