Aussie Cowboy: I Eluded Crocs For 6 Nights

An Australian cowboy claims he climbed a tree to escape two hungry crocodiles in an Outback swamp — and stayed up there for six nights.

David George, the 53-year-old manager of a cattle ranch near Coen in the tropical north of Queensland state, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Tuesday he was dazed after falling from his horse Aug. 2.

"By the time I ... regained my senses, I was in the middle of a swamp," George said.

He said it was almost nightfall when he climbed the tree, and he spent the first night among the branches about 8 feet above the ground. George said he was then stalked by two large crocodiles.

"The next night, I got higher and set up some sticks that I could lie on," he said.

George, meanwhile, became the subject of a search-and-rescue operation when his horse wandered home without him.

The cowboy said an army helicopter crew that spotted him waving his shirt from his treetop sanctuary Aug. 8 flew him to a hospital in Coen for treatment of minor injuries. He was released after a few hours.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service officer Mark Read said George had survived a dangerous situation.

"Mr. George was very lucky in terms of having a tree that was the right size and shape to accommodate his body for the length of time he stayed up there," Read told ABC.