A man who picked a fight with a crocodile is waiting to have his mauled arm reconstructed by specialists.
The 22-year-old student entered the lagoon to confront the croc because he wanted to “feel strong emotions.”
He told medics: “It’s better to die a brave man than die a coward.”
Footage shows the student swimming across the lagoon before being dragged under the water on 23 January.
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The crocodile bit the man on his left arm at Laguna del Carpintero, known as Carpenter’s Lagoon in English, in the city of Tampico, northeast of Mexico City, Mexico.
The lagoon is home to around 100 of them.
The unnamed student was hospitalised with a lacerated and broken arm.
Joaquín Juárez Durán, director at the Dr Carlos Canseco Hospital, said the patient’s treatment is progressing well.
He stated that doctors have set his fractured arm with an external fixator.
They are now waiting for the plastic surgeon to carry out a skin graft to reconstruct the deep wounds.
Juárez also said that the hospital is the only one in the region with a traumatologist, plastic surgeon, and internist who specialises in crocodile-caused injuries.
Carpenter’s Lagoon is a picturesque lake spot in the city, boasting a hiking trail, boat rides, and wildlife such as lizards and crocs.
Fences are erected to prevent crocodiles from approaching people on the footpaths, however, some animals, including pets from nearby homes, fall foul of attacks.
There have been numerous reported attacks on people at the lagoon, usually after they entered the water to go swimming.
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