For Komatipoort resident Danie Jansen van Vuuren, the expression ‘see you later, alligator’ became a reality when a metre-long crocodile took a sneaky dip in his swimming pool earlier today (January 5), reports Lowvelder.

“At about 06:00, I went out to feed my birds in our braai area. They were hysterical, which alarmed me,” Jansen van Vuuren said.

He walked to the swimming pool and saw a reptile that at first looked like a monitor lizard. Looking closer, he realised a crocodile was swimming at the bottom of the pool.

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“I couldn’t believe it,” he said, laughing.

Jansen van Vuuren said that he is an experienced snake catcher but was hesitant to try and catch the crocodile. He decided to reach out to reptile catchers while feeding his chicks in the front garden.

When he returned, he was shocked to see that the crocodile was no longer in the swimming pool. He searched for it, but it was nowhere to be found.

“I have two fox terriers and they also couldn’t find him,” he added.

Jansen van Vuuren’s home is located about 300m from the Crocodile River, and he suspects that is where the animal came from.

He also speculated that the crocodile might have accessed the property by climbing the wall. He and his wife have been living in the house for the last 33 years and have never encountered any other reptiles, besides snakes, on their property.

@lowvelder A crocodile makes a splash in a Komatipoort resident's swimming pool. #komatipoort #crocodile #poolsplash ♬ original sound – Lowveld Media