Published 17:33 23 Jul 2022 GMT+1

Alligator Leaps Out Of Water To Snap Drone Flying Above

It was the first time he'd ever used the drone and he'll struggle to ever capture better footage than this

Jake Massey

A fella's first time using his drone didn't exactly go as expected, thanks to an inquisitive alligator.

Fisherman Luciano Souza was trying out his bit of kit last Friday (15 July) over the Javaés River, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil, when his camera caught the eye of a huge reptile.

Video recorded by the device shows the beast popping its head above the water and taking a look at the hovering camera; and then, within seconds, the creature leaps up and clasps the thing in its jaws.

Check it out here:

Luciano told Brazilian news outlet G1 that he paid almost $1,300 (£1,080) for the drone in 2020, which he'd planned to use for the first time last year on his friends' annual fishing trip, but he had to give it a miss after getting Covid-19.

As such, the 47-year-old was excited to finally try it out, but soon enough he'd inadvertently put the drone in a perilous position, and he couldn't react quickly enough once the alligator got it in its sights.

At this point, he should have slammed the 'up' button.

Instagram/@luciano_lopes5445

He said: "The alligator went up very high. I had no reaction at the time.

"He was very fast. Only those who saw it have an idea.

"When he went up, he smashed the drone and made a noise. You can see that it stopped filming in his mouth, when it hit it was very fast.

"I couldn't believe it happened. He went up almost two meters. I didn't react, but it's OK."

Luciano and his pals subsequently chased down the alligator in a bid to retrieve the drone and they were able to catch up with the animal – but it still had the drone in its mouth, and they made the sensible decision to not try and extricate the bit of kit.

He might be better off sticking to head-cams and fish.

Instagram/@luciano_lopes5445

Unperturbed, Luciano is hoping to splash out on another drone and chase down another gator – though presumably next time he will make sure to hover it a little higher over the water.

"I'm going to try to buy another one, run after another (alligator)," he said.

All the best with that, Luciano.

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Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@luciano_lopes5445

Topics: Animals, Technology

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey