Crocodiles re not fussy about what they eat, they are capable of taking down large zebras to even killing sharks. The saltwater crocodile has the pound for pound strongest bite out of any animal on the planet, and yes this does include the great white shark.

A crocodile is an opportunistic feeder, this means they do have time to check if the prey close enough to snap at is in their “diet plan”. It is a case of “if I catch it, it’s mine”. So far this seems to be giving the crocodile a savage name but after a large meal such as a zebra, a crocodile can sustain itself for a very long time from just one large meal.

Crocodiles do eat humans from time to time, usually this is when people go swimming in well known croc infested waters, which is asking for issues. Though they have been known to wander into new territories and catch people off guard also.

Common Crocodile Foods

  • Birds
  • Deer
  • Fish
  • Occasionally sharks
  • Buffaloes
  • Wildebeests
  • Young elephants
  • Cows
  • Gazelles
  • Boars
  • Capybaras
  • Kangaroos
  • Other Crocodiles
  • Snakes

Baby crocodiles start or smaller foods that hang around their habitat, most targets are animals drinking from the water in which they are living. Due to their prey being dependant on what comes within close proximity of the croc, they must attempt to eat each in order to stay alive. The next meal could be weeks or months away from returning.

Once they strike at their prey, a crocodile will roll and twist to takedown the prey item, animals will try and fight back but this is where the crocodiles thick Armour type skin protects it from taking much or if any damage.

 For larger foods such as the buffalo, crocs will drag them to a deeper part of the water and submerge them, this in itself gives the buffalo a serve disadvantage as they are not great swimmers.

Crocodiles do not kill for sport, they are just looking to survive, many people demonise crocs but they are just like humans in their meat eating but are unable to do it humanly and are not that great with an oven.

How crocodiles eat?

 The most common method a crocodile uses is water as a stealth blanket, a 15ft crocodile can move around in the water without making a ripple as their eyes break the surface.

They use this technique in patrolling hotspots in lakes and rivers edges, this is where crocs find most mammals will drink and become less aware of their surroundings.

When they strike forwards, a crocodile’s bite is so powerful it is near impossible for the prey to escape its grip. To put this into prospective, a human’s bite is 162-PSI (pounds per square inch) whereas a crocodile’s bite is 37,00-PSI.

Once they have a firm grip, they begin to do the “death roll” turning and twisting their body to tear flesh from the prey, by this point the animal would likely of died.

1 Comment

  1. Dinesen

    Thanks for the terrific information for us.
    Best regards,
    Dinesen Cannon

    Reply

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