Who Killed the Giant Crocodile?

[zooboy28]

In the tradition of those famous epic battles - Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, etc., comes this unusual find: Giant Crocodile Head Found on Beach - Shark to Blame?... | Stuff.co.nz

Video on link too.

The reported discovery of a giant crocodile's head on a South African beach has locals fearing a huge great white shark is on the prowl.

Brigitte Cary-Smith and husband Neale, from St Lucia, discovered and filmed the crocodile head while walking their dogs down a beach near their home.

The video has attracted worldwide attention, with coverage on CNN and The Daily Mail, among many others.

In the video, Neale can be heard describing the reasons why they think a giant shark is responsible.

"You can see where the shark has actually ripped it... on the side here in the flesh you can see the shark teeth.''

At one point he asks Brigitte to put her hand on its head and then he tries to pry its jaws open. He theorises that the crocodile, likely more than 3 metres long, has probably gone out a nearby river mouth and then been chomped.

"It's quite normal for sharks to swim here in the sea at St Lucia and it's also very normal for very large sharks to be very close to the shore."

Other possibilities mooted include poachers, but the Daily Mail reported this was unlikely as the head and jaw were normally the most valuable part of the animal.

I guess there are several other possibilities, including other crocodiles and possibly orcas?

 

[nanoboy]

Are crocs normally found in the ocean around those parts?

 

[zooboy28]

Are crocs normally found in the ocean around those parts?

According to wikipedia, Nile Crocodiles (the species in question),

have been known to enter the sea in some areas, with one specimen having been seen 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) off St Lucia Bay in 1917.

St Lucia Bay is part of South Africa's third largest protected area, located on the east coast, and was where the head was found.

The species is also found in Madagascar, and historically in the Seychelles, so it can presumably tolerate some time at sea. However, I don't know whether they regularly enter the ocean (as Saltwater Crocodiles do) for hunting or other reasons.

An alternative possible scenario for this individual is that it died in freshwater, and then floated out to sea, where all manner of species could have fed on it, including sharks.

 

[nanoboy]

That's good thinking. As the video mentioned a shark, it threw me off and it didn't even cross my mind that it could have been a crocodile that died in fresh water. Initially I thought the couple were from St Lucia in the Caribbean, but something about the accent convinced me otherwise.

 

[zooboy28]

That's good thinking. As the video mentioned a shark, it threw me off and it didn't even cross my mind that it could have been a crocodile that died in fresh water. Initially I thought the couple were from St Lucia in the Caribbean, but something about the accent convinced me otherwise.

Yeah, that's the St Lucia I thought they were talking about in the story, but it didn't quite make sense. The video certainly clears that up.

Another possibility, although much less likely, is that sharks (perhaps Bull Sharks) swam into freshwater, killed the crocodile, and then either dragged it out to sea, or it floated down there itself... or maybe not.

 

[nanoboy]

I wonder why this is news though. What is so sensational about it? Is it because crocs aren't usually found there? Is it the size of the croc's head? Is it because of the apparent 'death by shark'? Is it because there just isn't anything important to report on the news these days?

 

[zooboy28]

I wonder why this is news though. What is so sensational about it? Is it because crocs aren't usually found there? Is it the size of the croc's head? Is it because of the apparent 'death by shark'? Is it because there just isn't anything important to report on the news these days?

I don't think its because crocs aren't found there, it would be a much much more interesting story if the head had been found near Melbourne or in NZ. There are 1200 crocs in the protected area where it was found, so they aren't rare. And its not the size, because a typical adult male is 3.5-5m long (max recorded 6.47m), so 3m isn't very impressive.

So basically, I think its a story because a) its interesting to speculate on any unsolvable mystery, especially where crocodiles and sharks are involved, and b) its a pretty slow news time (at least in NZ and probably Australia where everyone is still on holiday).

 

[nanoboy]

Yes, a couple weeks ago we saw on the news some "amazing" footage filmed by tourists of giraffes banging their necks against each other. I am pretty sure similar footage was on "Inside Nature's Giants" years ago.

 

[zooboy28]

Yes, a couple weeks ago we saw on the news some "amazing" footage filmed by tourists of giraffes banging their necks against each other. I am pretty sure similar footage was on "Inside Nature's Giants" years ago.

I wouldn't have though "necking" was a particularly rarely seen behaviour, I've seen the bachelor herd at Hamilton Zoo doing it. It is pretty impressive though.