Roger Moore’s notoriously silly crocodile-hopping scene from the James Bond movie Live and Let Die gets a high score from an animal expert.

SUMMARY

 Running across crocodiles is a terrible idea, but this Bond film’s depiction of crocs approaching humans is somewhat accurate.

 Crocodiles become accustomed to being fed by humans and associate them with food, which can lead to dangerous situations.
 In the wild, American crocodiles are secretive and would not approach humans unless they perceive them as food.

Roger Moore’s notorious crocodile scene from the James Bond film Live and Let Die gets high marks from an expert. Moore made his 007 debut in 1973’s action-packed 8th Bond film, a globetrotting adventure that took Bond from New York to the Caribbean to New Orleans.

Memorable for its villain Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) and some truly amazing boat chases, the film is also remembered for a deeply silly sequence that sees Bond imprisoned at a remote reptile farm where he’s about to be eaten alive, until he makes his escape by running across the backs of several conveniently-placed crocodiles.

That crocodile-hopping Live and Let Die moment may indeed be ridiculous, but the film’s depiction of how crocs act around humans is not entirely inaccurate, at least according to one expert.

In a video for Insider, crocodile wrangler Frank Robb broke down Bond’s encounter with crocs, and confirmed that the animals would have no problem approaching 007 as they do in the movie.

Robb did point out that running across the backs of crocodiles is a terrible idea, but overall gave the film a seven for realism. Check out his remarks below (beginning at 10:14 of the video):

Only takes one time feeding an alligator or a crocodile for them to go, “This is an easy way to make a living, just hanging around the people, let them throw me things and I can save all that energy I would be using otherwise.”

They’re not going to go after you so they get very used to people. You should never be feeding wildlife in general.

Definitely not crocodilians because they associate people with that food very quickly and that’s how terrible things happen. It’s not necessarily you that might not be worried about it, but the next person to come up there might not know that’s a fed animal.

In the wild, American crocodiles are actually even more secretive and ghostlike than the American alligator. They want nothing to do with you. They’re very, very secretive animals.

They would not approach you the way these are approaching here that have been fed. As soon as something hit the water they’re going to be looking at it like it’s food.

If you tried to run and jump across crocodiles you’d only do it once. It just doesn’t work out so well for you. If you’re rating it looking at the realistic possibility of crocodiles and alligators approaching you in an alligator farm, it’s pretty realistic.

If you’re looking at the realistic ability of running across crocodiles, that’s not going to happen. So you got to give that one like probably a solid seven.

Live and Let Die’s Crocodile Stunt Was Done For Real (And Was Terrifying)

Crocodile wrangler Robb rightfully points out that it would be crazy to try and run across the backs of crocodiles. Nevertheless, that very stunt was performed for real for Live and Let Die.

The movie’s crocodile hopper, a farm owner named Kananga (whose moniker was borrowed for Kotto’s villain), performed the death-defying feat by tying the animals’ feet together while leaving their jaws and tails free, making four failed attempts at scampering across their backs before getting it right. Live and Let Die BTS footage shows how terrifying Kananga’s stunt actually was.

Making the feat even more amazing was the fact that Kananga’s own father was killed by a crocodile.

Live and Let Die grossed $161 million in 1973.

Live and Let Die‘s crocodile run may not be the most impressive James Bond stunt of all-time, but it is one of the most memorable, precisely because it’s so ridiculous.

The realism of the scene is not the point, but it’s still good to hear that the movie got a few details right in its depiction of the remote Louisiana reptile farm where Bond almost meets his demise, before pulling off one of his signature last-second escapes.