Dubai: A female scientist was eaten alive by a crocodile, at an Indonesian research facility on Friday. It is believed that the 17-foot long crocodile attacked the researcher, Deasy Tuwo, who was feeding it, by jumping up an 8-foot tall enclosure wall and dragging her in.
Tuwo’s co-workers discovered her remains in the crocodile’s mouth, but the lack of eye-witnesses for the attack, caused many netizens to speculate whether Tuwo was attacked because she failed to take appropriate precautions. Others on social media thought it was an expected result of holding dangerous animals in captivity.
The attack took place at the CV Yosiki Laboratory in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, whose owner remains unavailable for comment. Tuwo’s remains were discovered late in the afternoon by her colleagues, when they noticed a “strange shape” in the water, according to several media reports.
The Times, a British news website, reported that the crocodile, named Merry, had ripped off Tuwo’s left arm and mutilated her upper torso. Terrified, Tuwo’s colleagues reported the matter to the police, who strugggled to extricate the researcher’s remains from the violent crocodile, according to the The Daily Mail website. The crocodile has since been moved for tests to a wildlife rescue centre in Bitung, according to reports.
Not the full picture
The primary consensus has pinned the blame on Merry, who has previously been known to attack other crocodiles. However, many social media users found it unlikely that the crocodile jumped, and theorised that Tuwo may have leaned too far into the enclosure, or accidentally slipped in prompting an attack.
Facebook user Christian Imanuel Lendo posted: “This accident happened in my hometown. From what I know, it was raining and the scientist slipped away into the pool when she went to feed the crocodile. So sad. “
Social media user @hecxtreme replied on a Twitter thread: “She either fell in or was pushed in. Stop with the projectile crocodile nonsense.”
Tweep @Woodywo63759089 shared the story, writing: “[The crocodile] jumped up, yes, but not over [the enclosure]. The poor lady’s arm must have been dangling well down the wall.”
Many social media users believed that the crocodile did not deserve to be persecuted since it was behaving as a carnivore naturally would.
Alexandra Ferguson posted on Facebook: “I hope that beautiful creature will not be sliced open and killed for what is nature to them.”
Tweep @ranchouniverso posted about the crocodile: “In prison and hungry, just acting as nature intended him to.”
Many social media expressed their condolences to the family of Tuwo, who was described by her friends as “a quiet person who loved animals” according to The Daily Mail. Tweep @rejoycet shared the story and posted: “May her soul rest in peace”
