Monster crocodile's wild act that had wildlife rangers on edge: 'Be prepared to run'

Heart-stopping footage captured the moment a crocodile scaled a fence at a wildlife park as visitors were warned to prepare to run. 

Onlookers were left shocked as they watched the incident unfold at the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park in Broome, in Western Australia's north. 

The saltwater crocodile attempted to climb over a wired fence at the sanctuary, which is home to around 600 crocodiles and alligators.

A ranger had been feeding the creatures chunks of meat at the time and warned visitors to be ready to flee. 

The crocodile climbed back down from the fence and into its enclosure a short time later. 

Tour guide Owen Douglas said it wasn't unusual to see crocodiles trying to climb over the fence. 

'Often these crocodiles are extremely aggressive so for a crocodile to climb over the feeding bay like that, is something somewhat common at the park,' he told 9News. 

Mr Douglas brushed aside any concerns for the safety of visitors and rangers. 

'We're all really well trained out there, we all know what we're doing,' he said. 

'I'm sure that the tourists are secretly hoping one of the tour guide's arms gets taken off, but unfortunately for them [it] won't happen'. 

The park provides a space for 'problem crocs', a term used to describe crocodiles that are deemed to be a risk to public safety. 

Some of the crocodiles are as large as four metres in length.  

Mr Douglas said the crocodile park provides the creatures a safe place to live. 

'Ideally, these crocs should be in the wild, but they've been saved from being killed,' he said.