A golfer has been bitten on the leg by a crocodile while playing at an Australian tourist resort.
The man, aged in his 70s, had two puncture wounds in his left calf after he was bitten by the 4-foot saltwater crocodile on Monday at the Palmer Sea Reef Golf Course in the tourist town of Port Douglas on Queensland state's Great Barrier Reef , Police Senior Sergeant James Coate told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to the Mossman Hospital in a stable condition, he said. Crocodile bites often become infected.
The croc had been lurking in a waterway on the 11th hole, he said.
"He landed his ball near the water and as he's done that he disturbed a ... crocodile," Coate told ABC.
"When he went up to the crocodile, it's bitten him," Coate said.
The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection will attempt to catch the crocodile, which is a protected species under Australian law, so it can be relocated to a zoo or crocodile farm where crocs are grown for their meat and hides.
Crocs are a common sight on golf courses in Australia's tropics and signs warn golfers of the dangers.
The department told ABC it was unusual behavior for a small crocodile to interact with people.
The resort's owner, mining magnate, and federal lawmaker Clive Palmer , wished the man a speedy recovery.
"Crocodile has been removed from all menus at Palmer properties following today's incident," Palmer joked in a tweet on Monday.
Crocodiles can grow up to 6 meters (20 feet) long and have become abundant across Australia's tropical north since they became protected in 1971.
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