A giant crocodile sparked panic after getting lost then appearing next to a village in a rice field.

The four-metre long reptile emerged near homes in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, Monday (July 20).

It sauntered through the muddy rice fields as locals ran around to see - with some believing it was a spiritual sign.

Alif Kawaru said: ''Elders here say that it could be a crocodile that deliberately went ashore to look for his missing twin.''

In some places in Indonesia, there is a myth that some crocodiles are all twins.

"There were no casualties, the crocodile survived and returned to the river," Alif Kawaru added.

The Ladongi Sector Police Chief, Inspector Trimo Susanto, said police and army members also came to the crocodile's location in the fields after receiving reports from residents.

The police escorted the residents who herded the giant crocodile to return to their habitat.

"Crocodiles are herded into irrigation channels connected to the Iwoikondo River," Trimo said.