This man was filmed hand-feeding chicken to a crocodile in the wild

This guy’s afraid of nothing! Or at least, he’s not afraid of crocodiles—he even dares to feed them chicken right out of his hands. Filmed by travellers along the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica, the daring (or reckless) man lets an open-mouthed modern dinosaur gobble food hanging from his fingers.

A special technique

He begins by hitting the surface of the water with pieces of chicken to attract the animal; this creates waves over the surface that carry the meat’s smell right to its nose. The crocodile comes swiftly—and not too gently—to get the expected meal.

This is repeated several times until the predator is full. We’ll add that it maybe isn’t the best idea to feed a massive predator like this, especially when it’s perfectly capable of hunting on its own.

A risky activity

This is a dangerous tourist attraction that demands not only complete mastery of the technique but also an absolute ability to keep one’s cool.

You can’t fear the fact that the crocodile could turn aggressive at any moment—especially considering these animals are known for having a particularly muscular jaw that, once clamped down, is difficult to unlock. We sure wouldn’t put our own hands that close…

Check out the video above to see the extraordinary footage for yourself!