Saltwater Crocodile – Crocodylus porosus

A very conspicuous element of NT Wildlife is the saltwater crocodile. More accurately known as the Estuarine Crocodile that can and do like to eat people.

So do be mindful when you are visiting the NT.

Around 1 to 2 people a year feed themselves to crocodiles in Australia. I say, ‘feed themselves’ because when most, if not all these cases involve a higher level of stupidity than is believable.

One could be forgiven a tad in not knowing where croc country is though.

In the 1970’s just about all the salties were wiped out with only a few thousand still in Aussie waters.  Those that were left became fairly ‘shy’ of humans and their range contracted greatly. Now after 40 odd years of protection those numbers are somewhere around 100-150 K.

This includes a range from roughly Broome to Gladstone.

Called a saltie they non-the-less live in fresh or salt water.  They can tolerate salinities from 0 to about 70%.

Physical barriers prevent their movement inland such as escarpments and dry creeks however they have been found on islands out in the Indian Ocean.  Estuarine Crocodiles are also found on islands of the NT and Qld coasts up to 96km off shore.

Referred to as ‘living dinosaurs’ the largest croc captured (shot) was reportedly about 8.5 metres in length (Normanton, Qld).  There are also reports of a 9m monster lurking in the same region today. To give some perspective the crocodile in the movie ‘Lake Placid’ was 9 metres !

As for why they are called Salties rather than their proper name.  Well, the Ancient Greek meaning for ‘Crocodylus porosus’ is literally ‘ PEBBLE WORM’.

How can you market that ?