Man stranded for days on Australian island after crocodile attack is rescued

The man paddled to the island to escape the crocodile after it attacked his kayak

A Saltwater Crocodile pictured in Australia (Getty)

A man left stranded on an Australian island for days after his kayak was attacked by a crocodile has finally been rescued, authorities have said.

The man was kayaking in the Shoalwater Bay area, nearly two miles from Townshend Island, north of Rockhampton in Queensland, when the reptile lunged at his kayak and sunk its teeth into the vessel on Wednesday.

He managed to paddle to the island and escape the animal, but became stranded there for four days due to a combination of bad weather and tidal problems.

The man, who has not been identified, remained on the island until yesterday when he activated his personal locator beam to catch the attention of authorities after his provisions ran out.

A helicopter from the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) rescued the kayaker at 7am yesterday.

He told his rescuers that escaping the reptile was the fastest he had ever paddled, while authorities said the man had had a lucky escape.

"It's croc country out there," an Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which coordinated the rescue, spokeswoman told AAP. "He said it's the fastest he's ever paddled."

"He was very fortunate," the AMSA told AFP. "It didn't pierce the kayak. He said he was running on adrenalin [to get to the island]."

In May, a 46-year-old woman was presumed to have been taken by a crocodile after she went missing during a late night swim off a northeast Australian beach.

Cindy Waldron, from from Lithgow in New South Wales, was swimming in waist-deep water just off Thornton Beach in Daintree National Park in Queensland at around 10:30pm when she was attacked by the animal.

Saltwater crocodiles have become increasingly common in northern Australia since 1971, when they were declared a protected species. It is estimated the animals kill an average of two people a year.

Last year, Australia proposed plans to allow wealthy individuals to hunt saltwater crocodiles, suggesting people may pay up to £15,000 to kill the reptiles.