An astonishing picture of a nine-month-old baby splashing in a crocodile-infested river has sparked outrage across Australia.
It was posted on Facebook by baby Dexter's mum after he was put in the water by his mum's partner, unaware of the threat from the deadly reptiles.
But despite the condemnation she received, Dexter's mum Haley Mackenzie defended herself, saying: "I know how the photo looks. A couple of people have told me that looked a bit dangerous."
But she said she had complete trust in her partner, who took little Dexter out with good friends for a spot of fishing, and that 'at the time the river was completely down, he's at the edge of the water and there were heaps of people around him.'
The photo was taken at Cahills Crossing, on the East Alligator River, some 150 miles east of Darwin. It is notorious for its large number of crocodiles, where 'salties' are known to measure up to 18ft long.
A local woman wrote on Facebook: "You should never put a baby into those waters. As a kid I'd walk down the edge of the river and be told off."
Australians writing to the Northern Territory News expressed their horror at the photo.
One wrote: "Look at the water depth sign and the current running past it.
"A croc could sneak down on the current and whamo, the child is gone in a flash."
Another wrote: "Someone and give the parent..a punch in the head. Idiot, idiot, idiot."