Words to Know

<span class="term">Saltie</span> — The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), the large, dangerous one. At home in salt water, fresh water and the open sea alike.

<span class="term">Freshie</span> — The freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstoni), smaller and narrow-snouted, built for catching fish. No confirmed human fatalities on record, so not a man-eater, but a cornered freshie bites fast and hard, and a bad bite still costs fingers and does real damage. Respected, not dismissed.

<span class="term">Apex predator</span> — An animal at the top of the food chain, with no natural predators of its own. The saltwater crocodile is the apex predator of northern Australia’s rivers and wetlands.

<span class="term">Keystone species</span> — A species that holds an entire ecosystem together, like the central stone in an arch. Pull it out and the whole thing can collapse.