70-Year-Old Man Attacked By Fidel Castro's Crocodile In Sweden

A 70-year-old man was rushed to hospital after he was attacked by a crocodile, which was once the pet of a Fidel Castro and cosmonaut.

The man was attending a party at the Skansen Aquarium on Djurgarden Island in Stockholm when it happened.

He was bitten after climbing up to make a speech in a part of the aquarium next to the crocodile enclosure.

Police Control Room Officer, Mikael Pettersson told local media outlets the man’s arm was on the wrong side of the security glass. The crocodile took the chance to bite him.

Other attendees of the event, who were there during which marked the beginning of the crayfish season, reportedly rushed to his aid and used their napkins to help stop the bleeding until the emergency services came.

Pettersson also confirmed he was heavily bandaged by the time the police arrived.

One of the spokespeople for the Skansen aquarium termed it as a tragic accident. The extent of the injury is not known at this time. It was mandatory to alert the police though, and the man has been taken to hospital.

However, the aquarium has already started to remove themselves from any possible liability incurred. Jonas Wahlstrom, the owner of the museum, allegedly tried to warn him about his hand placement on the glass.

He said he saw the man climbing up on a rock and held one of his arms over the glass barrier to the crocodile enclosure because he was about to give a speech.

The man turned his back, and the reptile saw his hand coming down and bit him. It held on for about ten seconds before it released.

The owner has since vowed to make changes to the enclosure set up so that it would not be possible to climb up the way the man did.

The museum has had the two crocodiles for quite some time, and they are quite old. They were initially gifted to Vladimir Shalatov, a Russian cosmonaut by Fidel Castro in the 1970s.

The pair are named Hilary and Castro, and they arrived from the Moscow Zoo in 1981.

Cuban crocodiles can grow up to 4.5 meters and reach the age of 60. It is one of the most aggressive species hence the reason for the attack in the first place. The species is also considered endangered.

After the pair was given to the cosmonaut, he donated them to the Moscow Zoo. The pair has had 11 children since their arrival at the Stockholm enclosure.