A routine feeding demonstration turned into a nightmare when an experienced crocodile handler was dragged into a pool and fatally attacked by one of the animals he had cared for over two years.
Kupi Rapura, a senior keeper at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, entered the enclosure on Sept. 5 with a chicken for a feeding demonstration. But moments later, the crocodile turned on him with terrifying speed.
“He brought the chicken to the fence and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool,” witness Gibson John told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
An Hour‑Long Struggle for Survival
Video filmed through the enclosure fence captured parts of the horrifying struggle. The footage shows Rapura being taken to the ground before the view becomes partially obscured. When he is visible again, he’s in the water at the edge of the pool, desperately clinging on while the crocodile remains at his side — its jaws reportedly locked around his legs.
Horrified onlookers gathered outside the enclosure, searching for a way to help. One person passed Rapura a pole through the fence. Another man climbed into the enclosure and reached down from the pool’s edge, gripping the keeper by the arms. Later, he held Rapura’s hand as the injured man appeared to be weakening.
But the crocodile refused to release him.
“He Couldn’t Scream”
As the attack stretched past an hour, Rapura remained trapped in the crocodile’s powerful jaws while those around him desperately searched for a way to save his life.
“We couldn’t assist at that time, [but] I managed to contact the St John’s Ambulance,” John told ABC. “The security guards had no guns but gave him a small iron rod to use until the police and St John’s Ambulance came.”
Through the excruciating pain, Rapura remained conscious — but John could see what the attack was doing to him.
“He was in severe pain, but he couldn’t scream,” John recalled. “He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes.”
And while Rapura struggled to speak, John remembered hearing him manage one haunting sentence:
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
A Fatal Outcome
Visitors were eventually cleared from Adventure Park as police arrived and rescuers continued trying to free the badly injured keeper. Adventure Park later confirmed that officers euthanized the crocodile during the rescue, finally allowing Rapura to be freed.
John said he later learned that Rapura had lost a leg before he was taken to hospital. “I’ve never seen something like this before. I couldn’t believe what I saw,” he said.
Rapura was rushed away for emergency treatment, but his injuries proved fatal. He died early the following morning.
“Betrayed by a Monster”
According to the National Capital District Commission (NCDC), Rapura had spent years working around crocodiles before the animal he cared for ultimately killed him. Before moving to Port Moresby in 2013, the father of eight had worked at Baiyer Zoo. He later joined Adventure Park, which described him as a “senior and highly experienced animal keeper” who was a “valued member” of the team.
For Rapura’s family, however, his death carried a particularly painful betrayal: the animals had been part of his life and work for years. His nephew, LeeMack Joe Tikippii, described the crocodile that killed him as an animal his uncle had trusted.
“The trust and loyalty have been betrayed by a monster you’ve been treated as a pet,” Tikippii wrote in a Facebook tribute. “Never knew one day your best friend would take your life. The highest level of betrayal won’t be forgotten in the history of our family.”
A Sobering Reminder
Rapura’s tragic death serves as a grim reminder that even the most experienced handlers can never fully predict the instincts of a wild animal. What was meant to be a routine feeding demonstration ended in unimaginable tragedy — and a family is left mourning a husband, father, and beloved keeper who trusted the very creature that took his life.
