An Australian man managed to prise the jaws of a saltwater crocodile off his head after being attacked at a resort in Queensland. Marcus McGowan was snorkeling with a group of people 17.3 miles off Haggerstone Island near Cape York when he was bitten from behind. The 51-year-old “thought it was a shark”, but upon realizing, he managed "to lever its jaws open enough to get my head out." The crocodile, which is suspected to be a juvenile, attacked McGowan a second time, biting his hand as he pushed it away. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and later flown to Cairns for further treatment. While crocodiles are commonly found in Australia’s tropical north, attacks are uncommon. The state’s crocodile population has sky-rocketed from 5,000 to 30,000, since hunting was banned in 1974.