Stories : Northern Territory
Crocodylus Bastardus Nastius?
They look mean, they can be ferocious and they do kill people but crocodiles are predators. Most human casualties come from plain stupidity or drunken bravado. Crocs don’t hunt humans for food. However, jump into a pond where one is lurking and you’ve presented lunch on a platter. More people die each year from lightning strikes and bee stings than croc attacks.
There are a number of myths about crocodiles. One is that they can outrun humans. Their stubby little legs aren’t designed for running and they are only relatively fast (10km per hour) over an extremely short distance. They are, however, designed for swimming (25km per hour in short bursts) and that’s why people who disregard warnings get into trouble. Another myth is that crocodiles only eat rotten meat – they’ll eat any meat! Some scientists believe they store their food in underwater crevasses as a back up, in case they don’t find enough fresh meat, or to attract crabs and turtles so fresh food comes to them. This, of course, proposes that these prehistoric creatures have some sophisticated form of intelligence, which is not sophisticated enough to understand that they are a protected species. Quite often they break the law and eat each other. This cannibalism could be why they have survived through the ages – they only eat the weakest, so the strong survive to breed.
