January 21, 2025, 9:30 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Although crocodiles are fascinating animals, they inspire respect or even provoke fear in many people. A new video that is currently going viral on social media is likely to further fuel this intimidating feeling. According to the video, crocodiles in Indonesia use a trick to lure people into a death trap. But is this really the case?
Few animals strike as much fear into people as crocodiles do. These reptiles are not only masters of camouflage but also possess incredible strength and speed, both on land and in the water. A video is currently circulating on social media that is stirring up new fears among many. It claims that crocodiles use a cunning trick to lure people into the water. But what is really behind the behavior?
Do Crocodiles Imitate Drowning People to Lure Human Prey?
In the video in question, which was allegedly filmed on the Indonesian island of Borneo, a crocodile is seen swimming on its back and waving its hands wildly in the air. From a distance, it looks like it is drowning.1
Some users even go so far as to write that, from a distance, it almost looks like a person in distress fighting against drowning. This is believed to be anything but coincidental. Instead, a theory that quickly went viral suggests that the saltwater crocodiles in the area have learned to imitate drowning in order to lure people into the water.
An Expert’s Assessment of the Crocodiles’ Alleged “Trick” in the Video
But is this really the case? Crocodile expert Brandon Sideleau from Australia’s Charles Darwin University believes this theory is rather unlikely. He announced this in an article in the online news magazine of the British digital publisher LADbible. The scientist, who researches the conflict between humans and crocodiles, has often observed “abnormal” behavior. Nevertheless, he does not consider it plausible that crocodiles use this trick to imitate humans in order to lure them into the water. Instead, he has another, more harmless assumption as to why the animal in the video was flailing its arms like that.
“I think it probably has prey in its mouth because I’ve seen it in some rivers here, where saltwater crocodiles turn underwater and put their hands up in the air when they have food in their mouths.” Sideleau also considers a neurological cause for the flailing, but he suspects it’s more likely related to prey.
In Indonesia, Around 100 people Are Killed by Saltwater Crocodiles Every Year
Despite the fact that saltwater crocodiles in Indonesia kill approximately 100 people annually, expert Brandon Sideleau finds the theory of newly learned tactics to be improbable. Although crocodiles are much more intelligent “than they are often said to be,” they would certainly not imitate a drowning human in order to attract prey, the expert is certain. “It would definitely not try to attract humans because it would have no way of learning to do so.”
Zoologist and researcher Professor Graham Webb agrees, as he explains in an interview with the online magazine of the internet portal “Yahoo.” He dismisses the rumor of crocodiles faking distress as ‘entirely creative journalism lacking any factual basis.’ His attempt to explain what is shown in the video also sounds as harmless as it is plausible. It is possible that the crocodile’s tail got caught, preventing it from “swimming normally.”
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Scientists Consider Video Dangerous
Crocodile expert Brandon Sideleau deems videos propagating such claims to be dangerous. They are often shared and spread false information. Such videos could have an impact on the management of crocodile populations, he fears. “Other misinformation can cause much more damage if people propose management strategies that are potentially harmful to the crocodile population or dangerous to the human population.”