The reptile was kept on a leash, like a dog, as he walked it in shallow water on a beach in Anapa in Russia.
He was spotted taking the animal, which he called his pet, to the beach where children played by the shore.
Despite the species’ fearsome reputation and links to hundreds of potentially dangerous attacks each year, it showed no sign of aggression.
Man arrested after taking his pet crocodile to the beach
During the video, shot on a smartphone, one small girl is spotted fleeing the scene out of fear.
No adults in the resort town of Anapa, in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region, appear to be concerned by the antics.
The owner was promptly arrested after the video went viral and his identity has not been revealed.
He allegedly was keeping the crocodile in a tiny aquarium at his home and using it to make money.
The crocodile has now been given to a zoo in the city of Novorossiysk, in the same region as the resort town.