Arrival Broome. It was time to get ourselves educated on crocodiles before continuing north. So we visited a crocodile farm and watched the crocodiles during their daily feed. Fresh water crocodiles are - unless provoked - harmless to human beings where estuarine crocodiles, also called 'salties', are aggressive, territorial, very lethal and at times even cannibalistic. Salties can grow up to 7 meters. Their evolution has remained unchanged during 40 million years. They hardly move and are hard to spot: a flat surface of water can hide a crocodile. It will sense movements in the water and come closer. They avoid risk - because injury could mean death by peers - and prefer to sneak upon their prey. They are slow and passive on land, but surprisingly quick and very powerful when they attack in the water. They will submerge and drown their prey (the death roll) before tearing it up on land. A creepy feeling got hold of us during the tour and we didn't stop to check our backs. One male crocodile started chewing on his partner's head believing it was a chicken carcass. We left the farm terrorized instead of educated.
sydney
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Arrival Broome. It was time to get ourselves educated on crocodiles before continuing north. So we visited a crocodile farm and watched the crocodiles during their daily feed. Fresh water crocodiles are - unless provoked - harmless to human beings where estuarine crocodiles, also called 'salties', are aggressive, territorial, very lethal and at times even cannibalistic. Salties can grow up to 7 meters. Their evolution has remained unchanged during 40 million years. They hardly move and are hard to spot: a flat surface of water can hide a crocodile. It will sense movements in the water and come closer. They avoid risk - because injury could mean death by peers - and prefer to sneak upon their prey. They are slow and passive on land, but surprisingly quick and very powerful when they attack in the water. They will submerge and drown their prey (the death roll) before tearing it up on land. A creepy feeling got hold of us during the tour and we didn't stop to check our backs. One male crocodile started chewing on his partner's head believing it was a chicken carcass. We left the farm terrorized instead of educated.
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