This is the horrifying moment a crocodile snatched a stray dog that was strolling along a riverbank in Indonesia.

Dramatic footage shows the reptile basking in the sun near the Karang Bintang River in South Kalimantan Province on June 3.

The unsuspecting pooch wandered close, just around a metre away, seemingly curious as it approached the motionless predator.

Without warning, the 9ft croc lunged forward and clamped its powerful jaws around the canine, lifting it off the ground in a swift, brutal attack.

The beast then slid back into the river, its meal still in its grip, disappearing into the murky waters.

Arsullah, a ship crew member who witnessed the scene, said: 'We were shocked. The crocodile immediately preyed on the dog and dragged it into the river.'

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.

Widespread tin mining has also caused villagers to encroach on the crocodiles' natural habitats, pushing the creatures closer toward people's homes.

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.