Shocking drone footage captured the moment a beach-loving dog managed to escape a crocodile lurking in the water just meters away.
Scathing video showed the huge reptile stalking the dog as it wandered along the shoreline of Loyalty Beach, near Cape York in far north Queensland, on Wednesday.
The dog seemed unaware that he was being chased by a five-metre crocodile as he walked along the shore.
The crocodile floated patiently in the water hoping to pounce on the dog.
The dog then moved further away from the water, forcing the crocodile to lose interest in its potential meal.
A drone zoomed closer to the reptile and showed it in a motionless posture after the dog had walked away.
Photographer Jerry Ahmat uploaded aerial images of the incident to Instagram.
Dozens of social media users who commented on the post were left in disbelief after the dog managed to escape.
“Spitting, I thought they were going to eat the dog,” said one user.
‘OMG keep the dog away from the water’s edge!!!’ another wrote.
Others said that the dog would have recognized the danger and that is why it finally fled from the water’s edge.
“The dog was aware of the crocodile,” said one social media user.
“The dog probably already knew (the crocodile) was there before it arrived,” another wrote.
Heart-stopping footage has emerged of a dog having a close encounter with a large crocodile on the shores of Loyalty Beach (pictured) on Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland.
Some users chimed in saying that the dog should have been rescued sooner, instead of being allowed to venture near the shore.
“I don’t understand why they didn’t call the dog when they saw the crocodile,” said one social media user.
Ahmat, however, said swimmers tried to call the dog before it approached the water.
He said the pet appeared to be a stray dog as its owner was not seen on the beach.
“We have a lot of stray dogs here, they say it belongs to someone in Seisia,” Mr Ahmat told the Cairns Mail.
“We did our best.”
Ahmat was flying his DJI Mavic Air drone at the time the dog had a close encounter with the crocodile.
He said crocodiles often come ashore on the beach and surrounding areas, including Seisia and off the coast of Red Island.
