Kendrapara: A tribal woman from a village of the district displayed courage to survive in the face of crocodile attack.

The survivor, Shinog Tudu was attacked by a crocodile on Wednesday when she was washing utensils in the pond on the backyard of her house at Adivasipada village under Mahakalpada block. The crocodile had strayed into the pond from a nearby salt-water creek.

"The woman managed to survive following a fight with the animal. She deserves praise for the brave act," said Mahakalpada forest range officer Bijoy Kumar Parida.

"The attack was so sudden that I had little time to react. The handle of a utensil saved me from certain death. The reptile emerged from nowhere and pounced on me. I was about to be completely dragged into the water when I hit the croc on its forehead. The strike paid dividend. The animal slowly released me from its grip. The crocodile was furious and must be above 10 feet long," she recalled.

The crocodile was, however, caught alive by forest personnel, much to the relief of the villagers.

"The crocodile was captured from the pond after spreading fishing net. It got entangled in the net. It is safe and no injury was caused to it while it was captured by skilled wildlife employees of the forest department. The crocodile is being released in its natural habitation corridors of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary," said Parida.

The male crocodile is an estuarine species, he said.

"We are a relieved lot as the crocodile has been removed from the pond. Panic struck the locality after the crocodile was spotted the pond," said Mahendra Tudu, a villager.