If you’re the only thing standing between a giant crocodile and a potential meal ― or if you’re close enough to be that croc’s meal ― definitely do not try this.
An unidentified woman in Australia was recently caught on video standing between a croc and a little dog that clearly looked like dinner to the reptile. Instead of picking up the dog and running away, she calmly took off her flip-flop and waved it at the croc, then shouted at it.
The croc swam off.
The incident, which took place last month at Cahill’s Crossing in Kakadu in the Northern Territory, where crocodile viewing is especially popular, has rangers worried that the next tourist might not be so lucky.
“(The crocodiles) could grab a person here every day of the week if they wanted to,” ranger Gary Lindner told ABC Australia.
Another expert said this encounter could have ended in tragedy.
“A lady turns up with a small dog, it sets the instinct off immediately in the crocodile … one crocodile went straight over another crocodile and straight towards her,” local crocodile enthusiast Lyndon Anlezark, who filmed the incident, told the network. “We could have had a death there that day.”
Experts agreed that people should keep well clear of the water’s edge when crocs are known to be around as they can quickly strike.
“They might give you a warning ― they’ll start hissing at you,” Shaun Foggett, founder of Crocodiles of the World, told the BBC in 2011. “The best thing to do then is to back away slowly and not make any sudden movements ― an adult croc can run as fast as an adult human.”
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