Know the Animal

You cannot be genuinely croc wise without a working understanding of the animal itself. Not the cartoon version, and not the horror-movie version. Not the Lake Placid fifty-foot crocodile that lives in Maine and pulls helicopters out of the sky. The real one. The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus, the “saltie”) is the largest living reptile on the planet and the largest living terrestrial and coastal predator. Large males routinely exceed five metres and can weigh over a tonne. They are not the bloated, lazy creatures they sometimes appear to be when basking. A saltwater crocodile can launch itself out of the water faster than a person can react, and over a very short distance on land it can move with shocking speed.

Built for the ambush

• Camouflage and concealment. A crocodile’s eyes, ears and nostrils sit on the top of its head, so it can float almost completely submerged with only a few centimetres breaking the surface, or nothing at all. In murky or shaded water it effectively disappears.
• Patience. Crocodiles are cold-blooded and can go long periods between meals. Waiting is not a hardship for them; it is their entire strategy. They will watch a productive spot for as long as it takes.
• The strike. The attack is explosive and close-range. A saltie does not stalk across open ground; it erupts from the water at the edge, often where prey has come to drink or wade. Most of the danger zone is the first metre or two of water and bank.
• The death roll. Once it has a grip, the crocodile drags its prey into deeper water and drowns it. The infamous death roll comes after, once the animal is already dead, to twist a body it cannot chew into pieces small enough to swallow. There is no wrestling free once a grip is set. This is why the safety advice is all about the moment before contact. After contact it is no longer about safety but survival, and survival is not guaranteed.