Photo of crocodile with severed arm

Seen here is a portion of one of the "Best AFP Photos 2007," taken in southern Taiwan on April 11, 2007. Apparently, the arm once belonged to a veterinarian tending to the crocodile.
Link (Thanks, Mike Love!)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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semiotix

I think I’ve been spending too much time on the internet, because the first thing I thought of when I saw this incredible picture was OM NOM NOM NOM.
Xeno

I hate to say this but that picture is phot shopped. The lighting on the hand is completely different from that on the croc and the hand also does not cast a shadow on the ground; you will notice that the crocs jaw casts a shadow but not the hand.

The AFP seems to have been duped.
Beanolini

Apparently, the vet had his arm reattached, and the crocodile survived being shot at by zoo employees during retrieval of the arm- so a surprisingly happy ending all round…
DGHilton

Looks fake, but the satisfied expression on the croc’s face would be hard to Photoshop…
Wingo

Ahhhh! ‘Shopped or not, that is disturbing. I demand a Unicorn Chaser!!
pennydreadful

I agree I need a quick chaser as well
felsby

I got some more photos from the incident. They do not appear to be manipulated. Also, the shadow of the hand is clearly seen.
Dave X

Actually, this is just a trick to get the croc to take its meds– hide them in a human hand.
Marie

That was a pleasant lunch time find….
DCE

That’s an awfully gory photo to see in the morning.

You wouldn’t be deliberately setting up a chaser, would you?

Regardless, I need one. The hand doesn’t bother me so much, but the dangly fleshy bits . . . eesh.
teuthis

What’s so great about this photo, really? No glitter? No boobies? No unicorns?
Christopher J Olsen

“The lighting on the hand is completely different from that on the croc”

Um, not really.

“…and the hand also does not cast a shadow on the ground; you will notice that the crocs jaw casts a shadow but not the hand.”

The crocodile’s head is resting on a piece of rock that may not be entirely even on the surface, which would make shadows cast unevenly. Furthermore, the lighting does not appear to be hard and direct. Heavily defined shadows would only be really appearant in that atmosphere if the object blocking the light was very close to the other surface (in this case the floor/stone). The arm and hand are up a good few inches and though they’re sticking out of the teeth, are still tight in to the animal’s face.

I’m not saying it’s not Photoshopped, I’m just saying those reasons are hardly conclusive proof that it was.
jonathan_v

um, yeah… this really calls for a unicorn chaser
bpm140

Unicorn. Chaser. Now.
gabrielhl

It’s not photoshop. There are more pictures of this around several newspapers. This isn’t a “new” photo, it was all over the news when it happenned.
Here’s a gallery for those interested:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gallery/2007/apr/12/internationalnews?picture=329776192
Archipictor

Oh! I love it when these “ItÂ´s FAKE! Totally Photoshopped!” people start their rant. Most likely they have never even used the software. They burst their veins trying to explain what faults there are when actually they are just seeing real picture. And I second what #13 says.
cinemajay

Why is it the media is so quick to pounce on virtual game violence, but they have no compunction about publishing ACTUAL GORE.

Seriously, it’s not even a a war photo. Why the ludicrous gibs?

/bonus points if you get the game reference ;)
eclectro

Where’s the freakin’ unicorn already. Somebody email Xeni.
Bat Guano

U HAS A FLAVOR

Sorry. I had to.
ill lich

“the arm once belonged to a veterinarian tending to the crocodile”?

I think technically it STILL belongs to the vet. Just one of the PITFALLs of being a veterinarian, I guess.
Casey Sorrow

oh yes, very real, i remember when it made the news. A few more photos here for those interested:

http://fiendfolio.blogspot.com/2007/05/hand-wound-monday-crocodile-attack.html
Antinous

I followed the link. That croc photo is one of the cheerful ones.
ill lich

“I’m a leg man myself!”

(*rim shot*– tthank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week.)
OM

…How soon before someone photochops the arm into the Middle Finger Salute? :)
remmelt

oblig. “your arm looks shopped. i can tell from some of the pixels and having seen quite a few shops in my time”
davorg

As other’s have pointed out, the photo was all over the news channels back in April.

According to the BBC story the arm was reattached successfully.
Xeno

I stand color-corrected.
KurtMac

Great Googly-Moogly, I need about 100 unicorns to pull me out of the deep depression that was caused by looking though the whole Best AFP Photos 2007 gallery.

Mothers cradling their bloodied dead sons, people being hanged, people waving goodbye as they are about to be hanged, people drowning in mudslides and our fantastic Human Arm Meat in a Crocs Mouth photo we have here. Would somebody come and lock me up in a padded room? I cants stands it anymore!
romwell

Guys, here’s your unicorn chaser, sort of:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3032876

the guy had his hand re-attached.

As for the ‘photoshop dude’ – did you even try googling for it ?! You know, as in ‘look for other sources’. Reminds me of http://xkcd.com/331/
Uhclem

the arm once belonged to a veterinarian

So, is that like “it was the vet’s arm”, or that he had an extra arm lying around that he was saving to feed his favourite croc?

I didn’t think people had the right to have human arms around, although of course in the US you do have the right to bear arms.
gobo

That’s the happiest looking croc I’ve ever seen.