# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/21 "2007-04-13T14:30:37Z")
That’s one tough croc! They were shooting it to make it drop the arm, and the bullets seemed to be tickling it. BBC says now it’s a star at the zoo; everyone wants to see it. ---
**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 13, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/22 "2007-04-13T15:10:58Z")
> [@](#): > > BBC says now it’s a star at the zoo; everyone wants to see it. But I’ll bet no one wants to shake hands with it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/23 "2007-04-13T16:08:23Z")
An aquaintance of mine lost her forearm to a Nile croc. She was bathing in a river in eastern Congo (Zaire) when a croc grabbed her by the arm and tried to drag her in. Fortunately a guy who worked at the field site was also bathing there and managed to pull her to shore. Her arm was so mangled it had to be amputated, though. Since I had bathed at the exact same spot a few weeks earlier the story really gave me the willies when I heard about it. Now I give any large stream in Africa a very wide berth. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/24 "2007-04-13T20:15:24Z")
I know crocs have a powerful snap to their jaws, but I was under the impression that they use their mouth primarily to hang on to their target while rolling them around in the water. I wonder if the vet was rolled until his arm gave way, or if it was severed with just a chomp. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/25 "2007-04-13T20:21:16Z")
I dunno what it says about me, but one of the links is now my desktop picture 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/26 "2007-04-13T21:06:34Z")
Crikey. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804/27 "2007-04-14T00:34:55Z")
Hey, even tapirs can get out of hand (so to speak):[Woman’s arm bitten off in zoo attack.](http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/tapir_attack_in_Oklahoma_City_PartTwo.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-twice-if-a-crocodile-asks-gimme-a-hand-will-ya/399804.md?page=1)