Conservationists are calling for authorities to step in after a rise in social media videos showing people interacting with crocodiles. 

Videos of people jumping into croc-infested waters, purposely attracting the attention of, and handling crocodiles have amassed thousands of views online.

Wildlife educator Mick Bender told Laurel, Gary & Mark “if things keep going the way they’re going, more people will die and more crocodiles will die because of it”.

“It would be great for everyone to boycott them and just not watch those videos but that’s not how social media works,” he said.

“We’re pushing for the government to enforce penalties for these kinds of acts because people are continuously going up into crocodile territory, ignoring the warning signs, ignoring all the safety rules up there, getting grabbed from it and it’s always the crocodiles that suffer.”

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Image: Getty