Clever crocodile steals catch from fisherman’s line

DARWIN, Australia, April 13 (UPI) — A pair of Australian fisherman tried to distract a hungry crocodile with a salmon, but the crafty croc came back to steal a larger fish from their line.

Darwin residents Daniel Noonan and Sam Barker captured cellphone footage of their encounter with the 10-foot crocodile this week while they were fishing for barramundi.

“We’ve got a bit of a visitor, he likes a barra too apparently,” Barker says in the video. “He’s coming closer and closer, ay. [Expletive] you, crocodile.”

The crocodile approaches the boat, leading the fishermen to throw it a salmon.

The croc seems momentarily distracted by the salmon, but quickly returns when it notices Noonan reeling in a barramundi, a much larger meal.

The reptile grabs the barra and swims away.

“He knew what was going on, he was pretty clever,” Barker told 9News.com.au.

The crocodile’s thieving behavior is also found in its distant cousins — a woman recording her husband fishing last year in Naples, Fla., captured footage of a large alligator stealing a fish from the end of the man’s line.