Video: Photographer narrowly escapes crocodile's jaws in Costa Rica

Antonio Ruiz and friends lured the reptiles over with chunks of meat

Antonio Ruiz and some friends were baiting the crocs on the banks of the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica, luring them over by throwing pieces of meat into the water (Youtube)

WARNING: Video contains strong language

Sometimes it is worth foregoing the money shot when your life is put terrifyingly in danger.

Photographer Antonio Ruiz took that chance, however, and nearly fell victim of an angry crocodile.

Ruiz and some friends were baiting the crocs on the banks of the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica, luring them over by throwing pieces of meat into the water.

But as this video shows, Ruiz escaped with his life and his limbs just about intact after one of the reptiles lurched onto the grass at the side of the river, inches away from him.

In the video, Ruiz’s companions argue about his proximity to the water from a safer distance away.

The lucky escape has gone viral on YouTube, attracting over 300,000 views. David Clow, who uploaded the video, has defended his friend in the face of heavy criticism from commenters on the clip.

Clow said: “my friend, Antonio, may have a death wish, and he may be a little crazy, but he is not stupid. He is a hard dude…like he says in the video, everyone made it worse yelling. He knows how to behave around them. Try not to be too mean, people.”

Rio Tarcoles is a renowned spot in Costa Rica for crocodile-watching, due to the amount of them in the vicinity at any one time. The area the friends were stood was aptly called ‘Crocodile River’.