A video of a crocodile spotted "chilling" on a beach in Costa Rica has gone viral on TikTok.
The moment was captured in a video posted by Nathalie Ramsell (@nathalieramsell), which has amassed over 251,000 views since it was shared on January 5.
The footage, taken in Tamarindo, a tropical beach town on the northwest coast of Costa Rica, begins with a serene view of beachgoers on a palm tree-lined sandy shore.
A note overlaid on the clip says, "POV [point of view]: relaxing on the beach in Costa Rica and realising you have a crocodile 25 meters [around 82 feet] behind you."
The camera pans across the beach to an area behind the shoreline, where a crocodile is seen in the distance with its mouth open.
Costa Rica is home to various wildlife, including the American crocodile, which can be very big, reaching up to four meters (around 13 feet) in size. They typically aren't very active and bathe in the sun all day, says CostaRica.Org, a local travel agency.
Due to their tolerance of salt water, crocodiles are pretty flexible when it comes to where they live, residing in rivers, swamps, lagoons, small islands, and "have been known to come up onto the beach every now and again," the travel agency says.
The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) website says that "conflict with humans rarely occurs because of the shy nature of American crocodiles."
The reptiles rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature. A croc basking in the sun may be surprised by an approaching person and quickly enter the water, which might startle some people but "splashing away indicates that the crocodile is frightened and feeling stressed," the NPS says.
Crocs sometimes can be seen sunning with their mouths open, as this is how they control their temperature. It "does not mean that the crocodile is acting aggressively toward people," the NPS notes.
Some parts around Tamarindo can be a popular hangout for crocodiles, "so keep a keen eye out when you are visiting the beach," the local travel agency says.
In addition to Tamarindo, beaches like Jaco and Playa Grande (Las Baulas) have had reports of regular crocodile sightings. "In fact, there are annual reports of tourists being attacked on the beach, sometimes killed," the agency warns.
'Just Chilling'
Viewers on TikTok were rather relaxed about the crocodile spotted in the viral video, while some were alarmed.
Tymir wrote, "Little bro is just chilling. Let him be," and alejandrochan81 said, "Ohhh ! Wonderful."
User dhdiskwnsjsk19283, however, wondered, "Why are people not screaming and running."
Warren Ho said: "Don't swim where river meets the ocean."
User thisisashinthesky said, "THIS IS HIS HOME, LEAVE HIM ALONE."
Jordan Esquivel added, "Bro is just taking some sun. Let him be," and moony noted: "he's relaxing too."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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