It’s not just tourists that like Goa’s beaches, but crocodiles too!

Nilesh Bagkar was out on his morning walk on Wednesday, when he spotted a crocodile on Goa's Morjim beach. He quickly snapped a few images, which have gone viral after he posted them on Facebook.

The beach, 30 kilometre from Panaji, is one of the most popular beaches in the state.

The Goa forest department confirmed the sighting of the fully grown crocodile at Morjim beach. “It is not from the sea. It must have come from the Chapora river, which flows into the sea at Morjim. It must have been chased by the dogs and that is why it ended there,” Deputy conservator of forests D N F Carvalho said.

Crocodiles are commonly found in the hinterland in marshy rivers but there have rarely been instances of the aquatic reptiles sighted on the state’s beaches, which are visited by at least three million tourists annually.

Photographs: Nilesh Bagkar/Facebook