Is there a crocodile in Hepburn's Bryces Flat waterhole?

A man was swimming in a Bryces Flat waterhole, only a five minute drive outside of Hepburn Springs, when he says a crocodile surfaced just meters away from him.

The man told ACM the crocodile "scared the sh*t out of him," once it emerged from the water, before he quickly left the waterhole.

He scrambled to get a photo (above), managing to capture what he said was the head of the reptile.

The likelihood of a wild crocodile ending up in Hepburn, or Victoria for that matter, is one that nature expert Roger Thomas is unsure about, despite the man's claim.

"I would say it's not possible, however then I'm doubting someone's first hand account... he was the man on the spot," Mr Thomas said.

"I don't know where the nearest crocodiles would be, I don't think they would even come into New South Wales. There are certainly no wild crocodiles anywhere near this district."

Mr Thomas added Hepburn's climate was far too cold for a crocodile to survive in.

"It couldn't survive without artificial heat... those at the wildlife park are always in heated enclosures during the winter."

Mr Thomas said while the shape in the water was very unlikely to be a crocodile, he provided some other suggestions to what it may have been.

"I'm not sure what could look like a crocodile... maybe a water rat or a very big tortoise. The biggest thing we would generally get in that area is carp."

In July last year, a video emerged of what appeared to be a dead, skinned crocodile floating in the Murray River.

Brent Lodge, who posted the video to his private Instagram, said he found the crocodile about 15 minutes downstream from the NSW border town of Barham.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service investigated how a dead crocodile ended up in the Murray River.

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