"Nah that's wild behavior": Fans react hilariously to reports of crocodiles in Indonesia “pretending to drown” to lure humans

January 2025 has kicked off with a splash – literally. A video out of Indonesia is making the rounds, which may just feature the sneakiest saltwater crocodile in the world. This reptile superstar appears to "pretend to drown," sparking a tidal wave of intrigue and a tsunami of memes.

The star of the show hails from the Barito River in Kalimantan, where a crocodile was caught on camera by the account @travly. The clip's got all the suspense of a thriller, with a hand reaching out of the water, making it look like someone's in distress.

According to the narrator of the video, this is the sneaky way the croc lures in humans. Viewers left gasping and some legit wondered if the crocodiles are leveling up their game to outwit us.

Social media, of course, had a field day. One X user cracked, “Nah that’s wild behaviour 😂”

Another chimed in with, “They are taking full advantage of people being afraid of being labeled crocophobists.”

Another user warned, “Crocodiles all over the world are going to start doing it soon, just you wait and see.”

A user humorously asked: "Now who tf taught them that."

Another humorous comment read: "We have one in Kenya that pretends to be a committed Christian to woo voters."

A comment read: "That's how Man United pretended to be out of form and Liverpool fans thought that they will feast only for Diallo to silence the Anfield."

Expert opinions on drowning crocodiles

Before you cancel your beach plans forever, let’s bring in the experts.

Herpetology experts quickly shot down the notion that crocodiles possess the brain capacity to feign drowning as some form of hunting tactic. As explained by Zoologist Professor Graham Webb to Yahoo, they're pretty clever animals, and there's not one shred of scientific evidence that suggests they can fake drowning.

According to Webb, the behavior of the croc is a natural response to getting stuck or under stress rather than a calculated attempt to deceive human beings.

According to Ladbible, another expert noted that while Indonesia loses about 100 people annually from crocodile-related deaths, such a figure shouldn't be assumed to prove their advanced hunting methods of deception. Instead, this usually occurs due to human incursion into the habitats where the crocodiles are present, thereby exposing them to high chances of death.

“Crocodiles are also much more intelligent than they are often given credit for… but they certainly would not be mimicking a person drowning to attract prey.”

Contextualizing crocodile behavior

Now, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Crocodiles are stealthy ambush predators, and their MO is to lie in wait, sometimes motionless for hours until an unsuspecting prey gets too close.

That's pretty next-level hunting, but pretending to drown? That's a plot twist too far.

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The video tapped into our collective unease about wild animals' unpredictability, but let's remember that most crocodile encounters go south because humans encroach on their turf, not because they are outsmarting us with fake cries for help.

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