Luciano Souza, 47, used a drone for the first time when he was caught off guard by an alligator on a filming route on the Haaes River in Tocantins.

An alligator prepares to attack a drone on the Javaes River – Photo: reproduction / ND

Souza says that when he saw two large alligators in the river, he decided to move the camera closer to the drone to take more detailed images when he was surprised by the animal’s “boat”. The episode happened while fishing with friends on Friday (15) near Bananal Island.

The video shows the exact moment one of the animals emerges from the water and retrieves the device. “It was a shot: first he raised his head, and then jumped two meters. I didn’t have any reaction,” Luciano said.

The high quality camera shows details of the reptile’s mouth and teeth. The device, bought two years ago with a market value of 7,000 reais, was not returned. Luciano said he found the alligator with drone parts in its mouth and no sign of anything else.

“I just kept the controller, magazine and other spare propellers,” he complained. A video showing the drone being killed has surfaced online. TikTok alone has over 860,000 views by this Friday (22).

An alligator prepares to attack a drone on the Javaes River – Video: Internet/North Dakota