I've got a bite... Beastly Brutus gives tourists a scary snap



The tourists had paid for a close-up view of crocodiles – and when this beast burst from the water they certainly got their money’s worth.

For when it comes to crocs, they don’t come much bigger than Brutus.

Lured by a tour guide dangling kangaroo meat from a pole, the 18ft, two-ton monster was, er, snapped by photographer Katrina Bridgeford, who was on the Adelaide River cruise with her family.



Snap! This monster crocodile sent tourists rearing back as it soared out of the water in Australia to grab a chunk of meat offered on a stick by a ranger

‘It got the adrenaline going,’ Australian Mrs Bridgeford said. ‘It was so close you could almost touch it.’



ANIMAL MOST LIKELY TO EAT A HUMAN

The largest crocodile on Earth, saltwater crocs - or 'salties' - are often said to be the animal most likely to eat a human.

The average male tends to be around 17 ft (five metres) in length and weighs 1,000 lbs (450 kg) but salties of up to 23 ft (seven metres) and weighing 2,200lbs (1,000 kilograms) are not uncommon.

In the wild, they usually live to the age of 70 and populate the brackish and freshwater regions of eastern India, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.

They are excellent swimmers and have often been spotted far out at sea.

Classic opportunistic predators, they lurk patiently beneath the surface near the water's edge, waiting for potential prey - including water buffalo, monkeys, wild boar, and even sharks - to stop for a sip of water.

With a thrash of their powerful tails, they grasp their victim and drag it into the water, holding it there until it drowns.

She recalled that when her son Dylan, 11, saw the massive creature rise out of the water he had only two words to utter - 'Holy crap!'



Brutus is missing his front leg following what is believed to have been a confrontation with a shark in the river's estuary - leaving many people to wonder just how big the shark was.



'When it came up out of the water there were a lot of "Oos" and "Ahs",' said Miss Bridgeford.

'I wasn't expecting anything like this. I couldn't believe how close it got to us.



'If you had put your hand out you would have been able to touch it - if you'd dared.'



Jumping crocodile cruises are a major tourist attraction in the Northern Territory, where the Crocodile Dundee movies, starring Paul Hogan, were shot.



Thousands of the monsters live in waterways around the Darwin region, resulting in the local government erecting signs in tourist areas warning people not to swim or wash their vehicles in the water.



They are also told not to camp near rivers because crocodiles roam up to a mile inland.



Several people have been killed by the reptiles over the years.