By Lynde Salgados
Correspondent
CURIOSITY can sometimes lead to danger.
A grandpa from Claveria, Misamis Oriental was almost eaten alive by a crocodile, the other day, at the hilltop destination Amaya View in barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City.
The 50-something victim, name withheld to shield from further ridicule and embarrassment, broke safety protocols when he and his younger male companion entered a danger zone.
Ignoring the warning signage, they climbed at the Noah’s Ark’s high-level structures to reach the pond where salt-water crocodiles are nurtured, probably to tickle the visitors’ interest and imagination.
Once inside the forbidden cage, the curious “lolo” went to touch and had a picture-taking with a giant turtle being displayed beside the pond. Thinking that it was just artificial, he was tempted to go near the croc’s waterloo and put his hand on the immovable reptile’s head.
It was at this juncture that the huge crocodile had bitten his left arm and wrestled him down to the waters, thereby ensuing a near-death struggle similar to a gut-wrenching scene in a movie.
“Tabang,” was the only word the victim could shout before he managed to escape with blood dripping along the way out from the pool.
“Wa mo nagsaba, wa mo nag-abiso. Ingon patay buhi man diay,” he later regretted with both arms wounded and his left arm even dislocated by the sturdy wild animal’s sharp teeth.
Despite his apparent ignorance, Amaya View’s management still shouldered poor lolo’s hospital bills after his successful operation.
“Nakakita gyod ko bai nga gikaon siya sa crocodile, may gani kay nakaikyas pero dako iyang samad,” said the male witness who took the video that was then put under Moo Bee’s intellectual property.
One netizen opined that warning signs are not enough to secure some thrill-seeking if not unmindful individuals visiting the new craze for adventures in the City of Gold.
“Okay, let’s just put it as the fault of the one who climbed and got bitten. But it’s good that there’s a guard there too,” was his point.
The Amaya View, which was inaugurated on April 28, 2021, becomes more of an attraction, owing to its 165-meter long, 150-foot high Skye Walk Hanging Bridge that connects Hugo Skye Lounge and the crocs-rich Noah’s Ark.
