CANBERRA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Two people have escaped with minor injuries after being attacked by a crocodile in Australia's Northern Territory (NT).
A spokesperson for the NT Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture told News Corp Australia that the pair were "nipped" by a freshwater crocodile at Litchfield National Park, 100 kilometers south of Darwin, and were lucky to escape without serious injuries.
The incident was believed to have happened on Monday.
"Litchfield rangers received unconfirmed reports that two people had been nipped by a freshwater crocodile while swimming at Wangi Falls and had minor lacerations which they self-treated," she said.
Despite the minor injuries, the spokeswoman said that the incident demonstrated the risks of swimming in waterways where crocodiles could be present, according to the NT News on Wednesday.
"This is a timely reminder that if you are injured by, or see, a crocodile at a designated swimming location to let a ranger know," she said.
"Please don't try to approach or catch wildlife," she added.
Freshwater crocodiles can grow to three meters in length, half that of saltwater crocodiles.
On average, more than one person is killed by a crocodile in Australia every year since 2005.
The most recent fatal attack was in October 2018 when an indigenous park ranger was taken by a crocodile while fishing with her family.
Adam Britton, one of Australia's leading crocodile experts, warned in June that the number of attacks could be on the rise as a result of global warming.
