A famous TikToker known for her travel videos piloted her drone close to a crocodile in hopes of capturing the perfect shot. However, before she could see the photo, she and her team witnessed the crocodile leap up and snatch the drone from mid-air, destroying it while a cloud of white smoke billowed up.
The incident occurred in Everglades National Park, Florida, and showed the crocodile, nicknamed “George”, lunging at the drone and destroying it, creating a billowing cloud of white smoke, likely caused by a punctured lithium-ion battery.
TikToker Devhlanger explained that she was merely trying to capture a close-up of the crocodile. “We were trying to get a close-up of the crocodile with its mouth open and thought the obstacle avoidance feature would help the drone fly away. This was only the second time we used the DJI Spark.”
Despite the DJI Spark—a now-discontinued drone—having obstacle avoidance features, avoiding the lightning-fast strike of a crocodile, or any other animal, is not a scenario where operators can rely on this feature.
Crocodile lunging at the drone.
Many comments on the video criticized the TikToker, expressing concerns for the crocodile’s safety since lithium-ion batteries can be extremely dangerous when punctured, as well as the legality of flying a drone in Everglades National Park. However, another user suggested that the video was filmed outside the park during a tour.
Devhlanger later stated that the crocodile was unharmed. “George is fine and still looks hungry,” she wrote.
Regardless of the circumstances, flying a drone near any wildlife is discouraged and is listed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as one of the activities requiring high responsibility:
“Do not fly over or near wildlife as this can create stress that may cause significant harm or even death,” the USDA wrote. “Deliberately disturbing animals during breeding, nesting, rearing young, or other important life functions is prohibited unless approved for research or management.”
Since the video appeared to be filmed with a smartphone, showing the TikToker and her team seemingly standing close to the crocodile, this also violated one of the USDA’s other rules regarding responsible drone use.
“Launch the vehicle more than 100 meters away from wildlife,” the USDA stated. “Do not approach animals or birds vertically with remote-controlled aircraft.”
