This is the heart-stopping moment a brave performer slid into a crocodile's mouth at a show in Thailand.

Footage shows the croc tamer drifting on the slippery tile towards the reptile's wide-open mouth in Nakhon Sawan province on July 4. His head stopped a few inches inside the crocodile's jaws.

Aside from the sliding trick, the performer balanced on the crocodile's back while it swam on the pond and dragged it around the water by its tail without resisting.

His show was part of the attractions at a tourist camp in Bueng Boraphet Marsh, which is the largest freshwater lake in the Southeast Asian country.

The tourist camp at Bueng Boraphet opened for free to mark its 44th anniversary. Visitors could watch animal shows, walk in an underground aquarium, and go bird watching.

Thailand is considered an international tourist hotspot but animal tourism in the country has been widely criticised for its alleged cruelty. In other regions, captive animals such as monkeys are made to perform tricks in front of paying tourists, while some elephant caretakers offer camp visitors a ride around their compound on the back of jumbos.