This is the shocking moment a huge crocodile was caught swimming through rice fields in Indonesia.

The 14ft reptile initially went beneath villagers' homes before making its way into the flooded land in Pangkep Regency, South Sulawesi, on Monday, April 28.

Terrifying footage shows the giant creature gliding through the paddy field in Manakku Village.

Pangkep Damkar Field Coordinator Hizbul Wathan said: 'Initially, it was under a resident's house, but because the animal was startled, it ran into the rice field.'

Nine emergency responders were deployed to capture the beast. They worked to safely remove the creature from the area using improvised equipment and a rope.

The crocodile reportedly launched an attack, targeting the rescuers as it resisted capture. It took the team at least 30 minutes to safely subdue the massive reptile.

No injuries were reported.

Hizbul added: 'There were many residents nearby. The problem was that some of them were determined to approach the crocodile.'

The Fire Department plans to hand the crocodile over to the South Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), where it will be kept in captivity.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocs, with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland, closer to villages, due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies, combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.