A brave local feeds emaciated crocodiles that have been left to starve at an abandoned zoo in Thailand.

Teeradet Bunrak sneaks inside the crocodile pools to throw chicken meat to the struggling captive animals in on the island of Phuket.

The reptile enthusiast even ventures into the enclosure where an aggressive crocodile was kept isolated because it started eating its siblings out of hunger.

Footage from July 14 shows Teeradet pulling the rope tied to a creature underwater before a 5ft-long reptile surfaces. Another clip shows crocodiles swimming in a dirty pool while he feeds them chicken meat.

Animal lover Teeradet said: ‘These crocodiles are still waiting for tourists to return but it seems like they have already been abandoned. No one comes here except for a few who people who feel bad for the animals and want to help.'

The Phuket Crocodile World, a privately owned business, closed at the start of the pandemic. While some animals have been sold and moved to other zoos, a number of creatures still remain at the crumbling facility.

Some locals visit the zoo to check on the animals but the high costs of upkeep limit what they are able to do to help. A crocodile can eat up to 3kg of meat in a day and there are at least 28 reptiles still living in the pools.

Aside from the lack of food, the pools have not been cleaned for more than a year as a thick layer of green algae appears to have formed on the water.

Phuket Fishery officer Sitthipol Muangsong said authorities have been sent to the zoo before to inspect it.

He said: ‘Some officers had been sent to look after this place and if the crocodile died, it had to be reported to the office to inspect the cause of death. The safety of the place would also need checking so that the animals wouldn't escape.'

The officer also claimed that ‘the water in the pools is being changed regularly and the crocodiles aren't hungry'.

He added: ‘The water in the pools is being changed regularly and the crocodiles aren't hungry. They don't look thin.'

The zoo owner Sakul Nganwiwatthaworn said the crocodiles were 'well fed and always taken care of' and the their water is 'changed regularly'.

He added: 'People come and see that the lights are off, so they think the crocodiles have been abandoned. But we are here taking good care of them.'

Thailand was a hotspot for wildlife tourism as it is home to several zoos, wildlife parks, ecotourism hubs. However, many of thebusinesses were forced to close down when the number of tourists dwindled over the past couple of years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With travel restrictions now eased, government officials hoped that the industry is bound to recover soon.