Two hosts on the “Today” show in Australia were a bit alarmed when a crocodile climbed a fence near visitors at a crocodile park.
Two hosts on the “Today” show in Australia were a bit alarmed when a crocodile climbed a fence near visitors at a crocodile park in what the show called a close call.
It was far from terrifying, though 9 News Australia described the encounter as such at the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park in Broome, Western Australia.
The hosts interviewed a tour guide from the crocodile park to get his take on the video that went viral in Australia.
“It can be a little bit hairy at times, and sometimes it does get a little scary, but we’re all well-trained enough to deal with it,” guide Owen Douglas told “Today.”
The hosts had never seen anything quite like it.
“Over the years as they get fed—they get fed over that feeding bay—they learn themselves that maybe if I just hop over the fence I can probably get a tour guide as well or get a little bit of chicken as soon as possible,” Douglas quipped to “Today.”
“They’re just trying to get their chicken, they’re just trying to get fed…That’s just him trying to get his food as soon as possible.”
As he stated, it’s all done “very safely,” though it does seem a little disconcerting to visitors.
Dramatic footage captured in India shows “what maternal instinct is all about” as crocodile limps away empty-handed.
A momma elephant keeps her babies close because danger often lurks in unexpected places.
The accompanying footage, shared this week by an Indian conservation official, shows momma standing guard as her calf plops on its side to roll in a muddy watering hole.
After a few seconds, momma elephant grows suspicious and suddenly a crocodile appears in the frame, lunging toward the calf.
Viewers will note that momma is having none of it and ends the threat without harm inflicted on her baby.
Dr. PM Dhakate, Chief Conservator of Forests, stated via X:
“See this amazing moment as a mother elephant saves her calf from a crocodile. Her strong, ever vigilant and brave actions show what maternal instinct is all about.”
–Generic elephant image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A safari company in South Africa has shared footage showing a Nile crocodile seemingly showing off its super-impressive catch of the day.
A safari company in South Africa has shared footage showing a Nile crocodile maneuvering out of water carrying an enormous fish. (Footage posted below.)
“A young Nile Crocodile surprised us by proudly displaying a massive catfish it had just caught,” Dulini Lodge explained via Instagram. “Fish constitute the primary part of any crocodile’s diet, and are especially vital as younger crocodiles grow and develop over the years.”
The encounter in a Singapore wetland reserve was captured in video and shows the angry reaction by the crocodile.
A crocodile with a missing tail was the target of apparent teasing by a group of otters as some nipped at the tail stump, getting an angry reaction from the reptile.
The encounter at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore was captured in video last month by Bernard Seah, known as the OtterGrapher, who has been documenting crocodiles and otters in Singapore for more than 10 years.
When an otter bit down on its tail stump, the crocodile lashed out with its jaws agape as the otters scattered.
“The otters are fearless,” Seah told SWNS. “They know they are faster than the crocodile so they just need to stay away from its mouth.”
Eventually, the otters, no less than eight of them, lost interest and went on their way.
“I was so excited to see this happen out of the water and in full view,” Seah told SWNS.
Seah also addressed the crocodile’s missing tail, saying, “It was likely hatched out of the egg with a tail deformity. He has managed to survive for at least 30 years like this, though.
“The crocodile was about 2½ meters long without the tail, but if he had a tail, would probably be close to 5 meters long.”
A man fishing near a crocodile was captured on video and called out for it. But an expert was more concerned with the croc’s safety.
A man fishing on a riverbank in front of a sunbathing crocodile in Australia was captured on video by a Brit who could not help but call him out as being “stupid.”
The scene was filmed on the banks of the Russell River near Cairns in Queensland.
Independent TV identified the man taking video as British expat Tez Blackmore, who says in the video, “I’ve seen some stupid things in Australia and some stupid people, but this [takes the cake]. Croc on the beach. [He’s] fishing right next to it. He’s fully twice as long as that [stupid] person.”
Some commenters on 9 News Gold Coast’s Facebook page couldn’t believe the fisherman would be that close. Others were critical of the tourist for not warning the fisherman. Among the comments:
“Don’t worry about warning him, let’s just film him instead.”
“Yep, keep your voice down whilst filming so there’s a good chance the croc might catch him unawares.”
“Risking life & limbs for a feed of flathead? Ummm, no thanks!”
“Candidate for the Darwin awards.”
At least one commenter defended the angler’s actions.
“Croc is just basking in its home territory, not moving, not threatening, just chilling doing what crocs do. If the fisherman is not croc wise or aware of potential threats in the area around him that’s on him.”
And then there was Jesse Crampton, owner of Croc Country Australia who was more concerned with the safety of the crocodile known as Clyde. He also defended the fisherman.
“Unfortunately for Clyde, he chose the sunning bank right opposite the bridge, so he draws quite a lot of attention,” Crampton said.
“And he’s grown a lot these past years because he’s been getting fed lots.
“There’s a few wild cards going down there and chucking him food, which is certainly a no-go. That’s the next level, compared to fishing on the bank.
“I’ve personally seen over the years people down there feeding him fish, and big carcasses like wallaby carcasses of the road, doing their own attack shows.”
Crampton said this could prove a death sentence for Clyde, because if he becomes habitualized to humans his behavior could become more erratic.
If this happens, and he displays problematic behavior, he could be targeted for removal from the wild.”
As for the fisherman…
“In my opinion, he wasn’t down there provoking the crocodile or feeding the crocodile, he was just fishing,” Crampton told 9 News.
“Even though it looks extremely close, the croc is on land basking. It’s winter time up here, and he was still a fair distance away keeping an eye on the animal.”
Crampton told 9 News that the actions of the fishermen in the video are “not necessarily of concern,” but he does worry they might encourage copycats who don’t know how to read the large reptiles or others who push boundaries.
An experienced trail guide who was leading tourists on a hike in South Africa suddenly found himself underwater and fighting for his life.
An experienced trail guide who was leading tourists on a hike in Kruger National Park in South Africa suddenly found himself underwater and fighting for his life when attempting to scoop clean water from the Metsi Metsi River.
When Mark Montgomery went to scoop water a third time, he was dragged underwater by a crocodile, according to the South Coast Herald.
“I looked and the crocodile’s head was dead still under the surface,” Montgomery explained to the South Coast Herald. “There wasn’t even a ripple or anything. I think I pulled my hand back. If I hadn’t, it would have gotten my arm. The part from seeing the head to realizing I’m in the water myself, is not even in my brain. It was that fast. It is literally, he grabs my hand and you hear the water.”
One of the tourists in the group jumped in after him, but the crocodile quickly disappeared underwater with Montgomery in tow.
Montgomery, a trail guide since 1998 and trained in dealing with dangerous animals, put his free hand around the crocodile’s neck in an attempt to get to its eyes to deter it, or a hand to its mouth to try to pry it open. He constantly kicked to try to halt the attack.
When the crocodile began turning, Montgomery turned in the opposite direction, and suddenly he could feel the crocodile letting go of his hand.
“At that moment I lurched to the surface,” he told the Herald. “The bank was about 1.6 meters away. I lunged and lunged and grabbed the roots of a stunted jackalberry on the other side. In the meantime, I’m picturing this crocodile grabbing me from the back into the water. I lurched so strongly I partially tore my right hamstring; the left one is bruised.”
Montgomery climbed out of the water to safety but was on the opposite side of the riverbank. So he walked to a shallow part and crossed over, reuniting with his guests, who helped render first aid.
The assistant guide radioed for help, and Montgomery was eventually transported to Mediclinic Nelspruit.
Three surgeries later, there is no infection so far. The wounds have been closed and pins and plates have been put in. The hand is basically saved, and he should get most of it back to full use again, Montgomery says.
He loves what he does too much to let an incident like this stop him from continuing his passion, but he did say he might scoop water with a bucket and rope next time.
Photos courtesy of Mark Montgomery and Wikimedia Commons.
An unsuspecting family of tourists was enjoying a popular river in Australia when someone showed up and warned them of a hidden crocodile.
An unsuspecting family of tourists was enjoying a popular river in Australia when a Queenslander showed up and warned them of a hidden crocodile resting in dirty water right in front of them.
Flip-flops can be seen on the sandy shoreline on the right, and the corner of a gazebo is in the water on the left, “setup for swimming,” one commenter pointed out.
The family enjoying this section of the Wenlock River in Cape York never saw the crocodile.
Jeremaine Agale posted a photo of the camouflaged crocodile and posted it on the “To The Cape York And Back Information” Facebook page and warned, “I know we live in crocodile country, but always be vigilant.”
“When will people learn,” one commenter wrote under the image. “Love how non-locals think that they know better than locals; that place is full of crocodiles. Very lucky that [the family is] alive too tell the story. The Wenlock is full of crocodiles and a lot bigger than that one in the picture. Never swim in dirty, unclean water, always make sure the water is crystal clear so you can see the bottom but even still you’re not safe because that’s their territory.”
Another wrote, “I was told in Darwin that for every 1 that you see there is another 7.”
“Thanks for posting, a reminder to us all,” wrote another.
“According to the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, there have been 12 deaths in the state caused by crocs from 1975 to 2021 and 41 non-fatal attacks,” Yahoo! News Australia stated. “Two of those were in the Cape York Peninsula.”
Tourists in Australia were set to depart their lodge in the Northern Territory, but there was one problem: A crocodile blocked their path.
Tourists in Australia were set to depart their lodge in the Northern Territory, but there was one problem: A crocodile blocked their path.
No worries. The lodge owner grabbed a large frying pan, boldly walked down the stairs and confronted the crocodile, which immediately charged the man. It didn’t end well for the crocodile.
The June 17 encounter was captured in video by guest Shane Chambers and was posted online Tuesday.
Chambers explained to Storyful that it was a tense moment between lodge owner Kai Hansen and his pet crocodile named Casey.
“We were leaving the island via helicopter and the croc was blocking the path,” Chambers told Storyful. “[The owner] was worried about our safety, so he grabbed the frypan to shoo the croc away.”
A couple of hard bonks on the snout with the frying pan was enough to do the trick.
A crocodile awaited the perfect opportunity to pounce and with “unbelievable precision” leaped up from the water and snatched a bat in midair.
As dozens of bats swooped down to collect water from the Daintree River in Australia, one crocodile awaited the perfect opportunity to pounce and with “unbelievable precision” leaped up from the water and snatched a bat in midair.
David White, owner of Solar Whisper Daintree River Crocodile and Wildlife Cruises in Queensland, captured the moment in video shot with a backup camera. “Sorry about the quality,” he writes on Facebook, “but the content…you just don’t see this every day.”
“So after watching these guys for 25 years they are still full of surprises,” White wrote. “Many of you may of seen footage of freshies (freshwater crocs) catching little reds in the NT. Well, where that happens the river is narrow and there are hundreds of thousands of little reds. Not so here, this is a very wide river and there’s not many bats in comparison to when the little reds are here. Though I have seen bats eaten before, it’s when they fall into the river.
“But take a moment to appreciate the skill involved here by Dusty Rose. She had to work out where to place herself in this wide river and usually she hunts on the edge, then with unbelievable precision she jumps.
“Over the years I have talked to many scientists and I agreed with them that this river is far too wide for the crocs to be successful in catching a bat. Well boy was I wrong.”
A crocodile carcass was found on a beach in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur on Friday in what might be a first-of-its-kind discovery.
A crocodile carcass was found on a beach in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur on Friday in what might be a first-of-its-kind discovery.
“It is the first time that we have found something like this on our beaches,” Pepe Murrieta, 50, a lifelong BCS resident, stated on Facebook.
Murrieta spotted the 9-foot reptile on the sand at 9 a.m. at Cabo Pulmo National Park in the state’s East Cape region.
American crocodiles are found in tropical regions on Mexico’s mainland, across the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez. Wild crocodiles are not found on the Baja California peninsula, where the desert climate is not suitable.
Murrieta, who runs a dive center and restaurant at Cabo Pulmo, noted that the crocodile’s death “seemed recent since it was still in perfect temperature and complete.”
However, Murrieta told FTW Outdoors that the carcass was partially covered in barnacles and that “it looks like it was in the sea for a while.”
He said the crocodile might have drifted across the gulf during recent storms. But the carcass showed no signs of predation.
Wild Canyon Adventures, south of Cabo Pulmo in Los Cabos, states on its website that it exhibits crocodiles and other “rescue animals” in its animal sanctuary.
Spokeswoman Wendoly Gil told FTW Outdoors that all animals are accounted for and remain “under our care and protection.”
Gil said that perhaps the crocodile was formerly cared for by a now-defunct zoo in the town of Santiago. Another recently shuttered local facility also kept captive crocodiles.
It remains unclear whether those reptiles were sold as exotic pets or placed elsewhere.
Murrieta said government scientists collected the carcass he found and scheduled a necropsy to confirm the species and determine a probable cause of death.
