Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) are the largest living members of the crocodile family. They apparently can be also be called surfers. According to AZ Animals surfing saltwater crocodiles have now been tracked completing surfing safaris of hundreds of miles.
The crocodiles had been spotted far out to sea in the past, but how they traveled and how far they could go remained a mystery. Some years ago the late Steve Irwin, known as the “Crocoile Hunter” helped finance the research that has now borne fruit.
According to A-Z Animals:
“So, after decades of stories of crocodiles swimming far out to sea, a group of researchers finally decided to test the veracity of the claims. Using traps and anesthetic, they implanted a group of adult saltwater crocodiles with tracking devices. Over the course of a year, they recorded all the crocs’ movements.
What they found was astonishing. The researchers discovered that saltwater crocodiles do indeed travel great distances in open ocean water to reach distant islands. They showed that crocodiles could “surf”; one saltie even surfed over 366 miles in 25 days. To accomplish this, crocodiles only swim when the tide is with them. When the tide is against them, they dive deeper or rest until the tide turns.”
According to Brittanica saltwater (or estuarine) crocodiles ” …are the largest living reptiles, growing up to 7 metres (about 23 feet) long and weighing up to 1,200 kg (nearly 2,650 pounds). Most, however, range from 2.3 to 3.3 metres (about 7.5 to 10.8 feet) in length and weigh 150 to 300 kg (330 to 660 pounds). Males tend to be about one-third larger and heavier than females. Nocturnal hunters, estuarine crocodiles can consume any animal that they can capture—including people and other estuarine crocodiles. They typically prey on everything from insects, crustaceans, small reptiles, and birds up to animals the size of a water buffalo. They often emerge from below the surface of a body of water to strike at an unsuspecting victim, pulling it into the water to devour it.”
In case you were wondering there are no surfing saltwater crocodiles in the United States. There are, however, American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus). They are quite large, as much as 20 feet long. They can be found from South Florida into the Caribbean. Crocodiles and alligators are closely related. American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are quite common and far less likely to attack humans. Crocodiles kill about 1,000 people worldwide annually. Alligators attack very few and kill fewer.
American alligators have their hands full with Burmese pythons. They are about the only predator capable of keeping Python bivittatus in some check.