Influencer's stupid croc act has Aussies rolling their eyes

Perth Now

3 days ago

A Canadian influencer has left Australians shocked over a video of him snatching a crocodile out of the water and holding it in front of the camera.
In the clip, Colton Macaulay can be seen holding a medium-sized crocodile which when pulled out of the water begins to thrash about and opens its jaws — clearly not happy with being disturbed.
The video Catching Crocodiles In Australia was reported on news.com.au and has since been deleted off Macaulay's social media accounts where he has more than 15 million followers combined.
The 27-year-old from Nova Scotia, Canada, has videos with him handling what appear to be dangerous insects and exotic animals and boasting about it to his fans. Colton Macaulay's video of him handling a crocodile while in Australia has since been deleted Credit: Facebook
Other videos on his social media accounts show him getting bitten by snakes, having spiders crawl across his face and small insects all over his hands.
But it was the influencer's antics Down Under that earnt him backlash from Aussie viewers shocked that he not only disturbed native animals but seemingly had no regard for the danger he had put himself in.
The video amassed nearly half a million views until it was removed, with many comments condemning his actions.
'How stupid are you?' asked one user, while others called him a 'moron' and an 'idiot'.
It's not the first time an influencer has caused backlash for tampering with Australian wildlife.
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Earlier this year, American influencer Sam Jones was condemned for picking up a baby wombat on the side of the road so she could pose for a picture with it.
It was clearly in distress after being snatched from its mother, with the footage sparking mass condemnation.
Jones later aplologised in another video.
Authorisation is needed to handle crocodiles in Australia, with permits handled by the individual States.
It is not clear whether the influencer was familiar with the relevant laws.
'No random person can obtain a permit to catch crocodiles unless it is specifically for research purposes,' crocodile expert and conservationist Paul Bowen told news.com.au.