Top 5 Killer Crocodile Moments | BBC Earth

[Music] by soaking their chests they can collect a little water to lick off back of the roost but this is probably the most dangerous thing they'll ever do australian freshwater crocodiles warmed by the summer heat they are at their most alert a crocodile's jaws snap shut in the blink of an eye the bat's reactions must be quicker they must choose a spot and run the gauntlet [Music] [Music] the survivors will brave the river every day until the monsoon rains break which must be soon but nothing goes to waste the death of a hippo provides a meal for the river's most fearsome and efficient predators the nile crocodile growing up to five meters in length these crocodiles hunt and scavenge there's a lot of crocs a hippo carcass just down the river from the studio is instantly set upon by these voracious reptiles this is about 100 meters in front of us a classic luango scene a dead hippo in the water and about 30 crocodiles what's amazing is that there are two or three hippos that are coming in and actually trying to force the crocodiles off the card because obviously mum will be one of them there seems to be a whole gang that are trying to force the crops off while they tear this thing to pieces so it's pretty primeval hippos and crocodiles normally coexist peacefully but crocs will take every opportunity to prey on a weak animal or scavenge a dead one we've seen one or two of these hippos doing these big yawning displays which is really a threat to the crocodiles they're trying to drive the crocodiles off with this big yawn and you know sharp teeth and everything but the crocs obviously not intimidated by that at all and the crops are here in numbers so that you know the hippos have got no chance really of driving them alison leslie is one of the foremost authorities on nile crocodiles she explains to one of the film crew the unique manner in which the crocs feed if it's a bony chunk they will literally just crush 2 000 pounds per square inch they will just crush everything until it's in a sort of a soft enough condition that they can just swallow and if it's a chunk of say for example skin or innards they just fill their mouth and shake and take and shake until this food literally slides down their throat there's some sort of hierarchy there they rely on each other to actually grab onto either end of a piece of prey and then they rotate in opposite directions so although to us it looks like this mad frenzy and splashing and going on there's actually a really controlled sort of system in place there amazingly so everybody's concentrated in the areas the hippos are dying off you know slowly but surely and these cleaning machines have come in just to you know keep the system freshened up crocodiles are opportunists they feed on fish in the river and at this time of year will make the most of any dying or dead hippos but they will also take advantage of any animal coming to the river to drink with that sort of number of crocs in an area obviously if there's an impile on the bank there's going to be a number of crocs going for that animal if we don't get rain i think there's going to be a bit of an uproar in some of these areas so for the thirsty animals this croc infested river is as dangerous as it is necessary for the calf and his mother going back is not an option briefly he finds a foothold then panic sets in crocodiles deliberately select particular victims mother and calf have no room to maneuver the mother is grabbed the calf is swept away the current is so strong that the crocodiles can't fight it only a rock stops their struggles the calf too is battling for his life [Applause] but the crocodile's hole is awkward reinforcements arrive the crocodile is tiring and has to change its grip miraculously the mother is relatively unharmed the calf tries to keep his head above water the crocodile is exhausted it has to let her go [Music] mother and calf rejoin below the rapids together they make it ashore others are not so lucky [Applause] i've just seen a really good sized crocodile slide into the water and i'm just trying to get a handle on where it is it's even more gloomy and sinister now [Music] oh i see it i see it now super giant croc up ahead of us he is a true monster i'm having to do all i can to keep my heart rate down the last thing i want is for him to sense any fear from me [Music] it's a whole different scale it's [Music] probably over four meters in length it could be four and a half [Music] this animal is standing up messing threatening alert i'm really not that comfortable being so close to him it's one of the most chilling experiences i've ever had a crocodile of this size could be 50 years old and would have no trouble taking an adult wildebeest or me this is the closest i've ever been to lying alongside a dinosaur [Music] the massive male makes for the surface [Music] but simply takes a breath and heads straight back down towards us it's coming after us along the bottom [Music] big males battle to dominate their territories he clearly sees us as a challenge we've no choice but to risk a dash for the surface [Music] well that was without a doubt the most frightening experience i've ever had with animals if undisturbed wildebeest can drink eight liters in a single session as his confidence builds he is oblivious to what lurks beneath the surface the herd is bewildered some have never seen a crocodile before even as the full horror unfurls there is great confusion about just what is going on and that was just the first attack 300 hungry crocodiles live in the grumetti river wildebeest react differently to crocodiles and other predators even the adults seem unsure of just how much danger they're in the cast's desire to quench his thirst overcomes any fear he may have the crocodiles maneuver around them with surprising ease they are intelligent hunters plotting their attack with precision a strike can happen at any time [Applause] despite the carnage the mother and calf survive they stampede back onto the plains for the baboons it's more like a spectator sport they might as well settle down a single croc can take some time to overpower its victim but crocodiles of co-operative fields they work together the death roll breaks the prey into bite-sized chunks but aggression can spill over [Music] you

Channel: BBC Earth

Views: 1,943,553

Rating: 4.7814107 out of 5

Keywords: bbc documentary, bbc, bbcearth, bbc earth, crocodile, crocodile attack, crocodile feeding, nile crocodile, top 5, top 5 killer crocodile moments, animal documentary, croc, reptile, deadly animal, deadly 60, steve backshaw

Id: npi99Y-MkN0

Length: 17min 45sec (1065 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 02 2021