The unknown man kept the reptile on a leash in shallow water as children petted it.

And no adults in the resort town of Anapa, in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region, seemed bothered by the fearsome reptile.

However, the owner has since been arrested after a video of the incident went viral.

He is alleged to have kept the crocodile in a small aquarium at his home but, having gained fame, the beast has now been transferred to a zoo in the city of Novorossiysk.