FIGHT OF HER LIFE
Ranger tells of horror croc attack
THIS is the face of a true wildlife warrior. Renee Robertson has returned to her job as a ranger at Billabong Sanctuary nearly two years after she was savagely attacked by a 2.5m saltwater crocodile during an afternoon feeding show. Frightening vision of the attack, filmed by a tourist, showed the aggressive saltie stalk towards her before latching on to her arm, dragging her to the ground. In her first interview since that day, Ms Robertson details her long, painful road to recovery.
WILDLIFE handler Renee Robertson is still traumatised by a terrifying crocodile attack nearly two years ago.
In March 2016, Ms Robertson was acting as a spotter during an afternoon feeding show at Billabong Sanctuary with female croc Tipper when the animal raced from the water.
The 2.5m croc latched on to her arm and dragged her to the ground. The other ranger was able to get the croc to let go of Ms Robertson’s arm by frantically hitting it with a stick.
In her first public interview since the incident, Ms Robert- son talked about the horrific injuries to her right arm and her continuing road to recovery.
“I had broken bones, soft tissue and nerve damage, a tear in the shoulder muscle and a twisted hip,” she said.
“The bones were the major issue because they took the longest to heal. I had to have a bone graft from my hip.
“When they took out a plate, my bone broke again so that had to heal and I had to have another graft from my hip, so that delayed the healing process and was quite painful and I had to learn to walk again.
“My wrist is a lot weaker and in elbow I still get a lot of pain. I have plate constantly on a nerve and I’m still on a weight limitation.”
Ms Robertson spent a few months in the Townsville Hospital with the support of her mother under the care of specialists, before returning to Rockhampton to be closer to family and friends.
“I wouldn’t be in the same position without my family,” she said. “My dad is an orthopedic technician and my mum is a nurse, so without them I don’t know where I would have been.”
Despite her ordeal, Ms Robertson has bravely returned to work at the place where it all happened.
She returned to Billabong Sanctuary as a mammal ranger in June, with reduced hours and a light duties plan.
“At the start it was challenging and it was an emotional rollercoaster,” she said. “Just getting my confidence back was the biggest thing for me. Once I figured out if I couldn’t do something, it may not be normal, but I now do it my own way.
“I won’t be winning any fast awards but I’ve learnt to do things my own way and I still get the job done.”
Ms Robertson said while she gradually increased her workload and continues with physio, occupational therapy and medication, she had no plans to work directly with crocodiles again.
“I was keen to try ( working with) crocodiles but I don’t see it in my future, the necessity to go down that path again,” she said.
“I don’t have anything against crocodiles. I can walk past them but ( some fear) is al- ways going to be there.”
Billabong Sanctuary owner Bob Flemming said the attack rocked the tight- knit Billabong family, but seeing Ms Robertson’s resolve to return to work had been inspiring.
“Renee is such a happy, strong, courageous person and everybody here at the Billabong looks up to her as an inspiration to what we can all achieve,” he said.
Ms Robertson said she had been overwhelmed with messages of support from around the world since her attack.
“A lot of people have been coming to the park, asking about me and thinking about me, so I just wanted to say thanks for the kind wishes and thoughts,” she said.
Tipper has since been relocated to a crocodile farm.