Friendly wild crocodile floats over to locals to be stroked in Indonesia

A friendly wild crocodile floats over to locals to be patted on the snout and be fed pieces of fish.

The huge estuarine crocodile has been living in a river in Bontang City, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, for more than two decades.

Residents have nicknamed the reptile Riska and she has become so used to humans, that she gently paddles over to greet them.

Footage shows one of the neighbours patting Riska's back, splashing water on her nose and dropping a fish into the croc's mouth.

Despite the menacing appearance of the beast's eyes glaring up from the water, she has become friendly to humans.

"She's such a big crocodile, look at her turning her body," says a man in the video.

''Take it easy my friend, see you next time.'' A local fisherman, named Ambo, said that he has been feeding Riska for at least 20 years since noticing the juvenile croc in the Guntung River.

Ambo said: ''It's been a long time.

Now Riska's age is probably around 23 years.

She's about four metres long." The fisherman said he considers Riska to be a part of the family as well as a guardian of the surrounding community.

Ambo said he named the crocodile Riska after his wife had a dream about the reptile.

"The crocodile came to my wife's dream.

She said to my wife 'hello, my name is Riska', so that's where the name originated," Ambo said.