Heartstopping moment crocodile stalks pet dog swimming at beach

Heartstopping footage has documented the tense moments a crocodile stalked a pet dog swimming in the shallow waters of a Far North Queensland beach.

Stressed onlookers watched from the shore as the dog’s panicked owner desperately called for the animal to return to the safety of the beach, in Umagico in the Northern Peninsula Area Region, on Sunday morning.

Gripping video, uploaded to Facebook, showed a seemingly determined crocodile making a distinct beeline for the dog, which for several moments was completely unaware of the danger it was in.

A chorus of people were heard calling out and whistling for the dog to urgently swim away from the crocodile, which made it within metres of the pooch before it realised it was in danger.

In an instant, the dog began bounding through the water, desperately leaping to get away from the massive reptile.

Just frantic bobs of the dog’s head towards the shoreline could be seen, as the crocodile’s body was shown slowly sinking beneath the surface.

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“Far out, that was close,” Hannah, who filmed the ordeal was heard saying.

Hannah runs a travel blog documenting her family’s travels around Australia and uploaded the video to their Facebook page following the dramatic event.

“Nearly witnessed some Cape Carnage this morning. Puppy dog nearly got taken by a croc. Heart was pounding as we all tried to call the puppy back,” she wrote in a post.

Hundreds of people were equally rocked by the incredibly close call, with many calling on dog owners to be more vigilant while they were visiting areas highly populated by crocodiles.

“If you’re taking your dog to the cape keep it tied up and safe. Be respectful of the national parks too,” one person wrote in a comment.

“Wow the croc was making good ground on the very lucky pup. That’s a good happy ending,” another said.

“Lucky little bugger. But people need to keep their dogs tied up or on leads or just make sure they are well trained and don't walk off and listen. My heart was pounding for him,” a third wrote.

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