By Mitchell Byars
The Daily Camera
LIBERIA, Costa Rica — A Boulder man survived an attack by a large crocodile at a popular tourist beach in Costa Rica on Friday after he and his friend fought off the reptile with their bare hands.
Jon Becker, 59, remained in serious but stable condition on Monday. Costa Rican media reported he suffered partial amputation of his right ankle, and most of his calf muscle was stripped.
Initial press reports had identified the victim only as a surfer from Colorado.
“He’s doing pretty well,” Diane Israel, Becker’s sister-in-law, said from Boulder on Monday. “He’s a miracle. It’s phenomenal considering he is 59 and he had to fight that crocodile.”
Pat McNulty, who works as a consultant and is a certified trained lifeguard in Tamarindo, a northwestern town favored by surfers and eco-tourists, said Becker was crossing a river with the friend when the crocodile struck.
“It was a vicious attack, and he was bitten several times in the leg as well as the head,” McNulty told the Associated Press by phone from Costa Rica. “They were able to get him free, swim him to safety and then trained lifeguards responded ... and we administered first aid and called an ambulance.”
McNulty said he accompanied Becker, who remained lucid after the attack, to Liberia, the provincial capital, where he underwent surgery.
“His friend saved his life ... and then we the lifeguards helped keep him alive,” McNulty said. “It was a very traumatic scene, and all individuals attending him did a tremendous job.”
Becker used to help run a solar and glass company along with his brother and is the former president of Trees, Water & People, a nonprofit based out of Fort Collins.
Israel said he lives in Boulder but also has a residence in Costa Rica.
She added that Becker, being an environmentalist, had been campaigning to get people to stop feeding the local crocodiles.
“It’s ironic he was the one who was bitten,” Israel said.
Community, wildlife and tourism officials met after Friday’s attack to consider strategies for relocating crocodiles and making sure there’s proper signage to keep people safe.
McNulty said a few months ago there was a “minor incident” in which a smaller crocodile bit a person.
“We live in a country where there’s large crocodiles, and people take for granted that when you go into a river that you’re safe,” the lifeguard said. “But the fact of the matter is that you need to be aware of your environment. ... We’re in their world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 the Daily Camera