I’ve always been fascinated by Great White sharks, but have only just realised that Jaws is not the largest nor most dangerous water dwelling man-eater.  The Crocodile.

Out of all wild predators who attack humans for food, the Saltwater and Nile Crocodiles are the most prolific and dangerous. Each year, hundreds of deadly attacks occur, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia. Some sources suggest that up to 2000 people are killed by the monsters each year. That’s about 5 people each day.

According to Wikipedia, the largest recorded crocodile is a giant saltwater crocodile measured at 8.6 metres and 1,352 kilograms shot in Queensland Australia in 1957. The largest living crocodile in captivity is a 7.1 metres long, in Orissa, India. It lives in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and in June 2006, was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It gets a lot worse.

A crocodile exists today that is at least 6.1 metres long. It has been responsible for 300 human deaths, and has allegedly eaten an entire adult hippopotamus. Nicknamed ‘Gustav’, it lives along the Ruzizi river in Africa. The most recent sighting was in April 2007.

In November 2010 a Queensland pastor photographed the tracks of a crocodile ‘two metres across its girth’, which experts estimate were made by a croc over 8 metres long.  The tracks were located in Normanton, the same area where the 8.6 metre monster was shot in 1957.   Numerous croc sightings  are now surfacing (heh) and they are all saying it’s about that size (8 metres), if not bigger… ‘

Yes indeed. Giant, man-eating, stuff-of-nightmares, monsters are very much alive and well on planet earth.

Other fun facts I bet you didn’t know:

• Crocodiles are adept at learning and memorizing routines, such as the location of nearby campers or the routes of travellers.
• Crocodiles can slow their metabolism to such an extent that a tree with an intruder hiding in its branches may be guarded continuously for several weeks, without breaks for food.
• There is a sensitive flap in a crocodile’s throat, known as the ‘glottis’ which they use for breathing. As a result, forcing the arm into the throat may encourage release, although this may instead lead to the arm being severed.