Tourist Thought Crocodile Was Sleeping, Then Climbed Into Enclosure to Take a Selfie  What Happened Next Shocked Him

A 29-year-old man was visiting a zoo in the Philippines when he made a very dangerous and unusual decision. While walking around, he saw a large crocodile resting in an enclosure. Because the crocodile wasn’t moving, he assumed it was just a statue or a fake model used for decoration. Thinking it would make a cool photo, he decided to climb over the fence and enter the enclosure to take a selfie with it.

He walked through the shallow water inside the crocodile’s area, got close to the animal, and took out his phone. People around the enclosure started shouting at him, telling him to get out and warning him that it was dangerous, but he ignored them. He believed the crocodile was harmless because it hadn’t moved the whole time.

As he approached, the crocodile suddenly came to life. It was not a statue at all—it was a real and very powerful animal named Lalay, about 15 feet long. In an instant, the crocodile bit into the man’s arm. The man screamed in pain as its sharp teeth dug deep into his flesh. Lalay wasn’t done. She then bit into his thigh and began to twist and spin his body violently in the water. This is a move crocodiles use to overpower and tear apart their prey, known as the “death roll.” It’s an extremely dangerous and sometimes deadly attack.

The man struggled for a long time—nearly 30 minutes—trapped in the water with the crocodile attacking him. He was bleeding heavily, and no one could help him at first. Eventually, an animal handler arrived. In a desperate attempt to save the man, the handler picked up a piece of cement and hit the crocodile on the head. This made the crocodile release her grip, and the man was finally pulled to safety.

He was quickly given medical attention. He had serious injuries, deep bite wounds, and was rushed to the hospital where doctors gave him over 50 stitches to close the cuts. He was lucky to survive.

Later, when asked about what happened, the man explained that he truly believed the crocodile was a statue. He said it hadn’t moved at all and looked fake. He just wanted a photo and didn’t realize the danger until it was too late.

The local police made a statement saying this kind of behavior is incredibly dangerous. No one should ever enter an animal’s enclosure at a zoo, no matter how calm or harmless the animal seems. The police said the man didn’t just risk his own life—he also put others in danger, including the zoo staff and the people watching nearby.

There were zoo workers around when the incident happened, but they didn’t stop the man in time. Some people who saw the event unfold said they couldn’t believe someone would do something so foolish. Still, they were glad he survived and that the crocodile eventually let him go. One witness said it was lucky that the man’s legs weren’t broken during the attack, especially with how violently the crocodile was flipping him around in the water.

Many locals recorded the whole thing and shared it online. The video showed the man walking through the water to get closer to the crocodile for a photo. From a distance, it really did look like the animal wasn’t moving. But as the man learned the hard way, crocodiles can lie perfectly still for a long time—and when they decide to attack, it happens fast and without warning.