The biggest reptile
A big male can be six metres long and weigh more than a tonne.
The billabong
Saltwater crocodile
Crocodylus porosus
A huge, heavy crocodile with a broad snout and armoured back, at home in rivers and in the sea.
- Size
- Up to 6m long: the biggest reptile alive
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Rivers, swamps and coasts of northern Australia and south-east Asia
Glides after you, low in the water. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Saltwater crocodile
Good to know
Six things about the saltwater crocodile
The strongest bite
It has the strongest bite ever measured in a living animal.
It goes to sea
Salties can swim hundreds of miles across open sea, riding the currents.
A patient hunter
It can lie without moving for hours, with only its eyes and nostrils above the water.
A careful mother
The female guards her nest, then carries the hatchlings to the water in her mouth.
An ancient shape
Crocodiles have changed very little since the time of the dinosaurs.
The real thing
Photos of the saltwater crocodile
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Take a guided boat trip in Kakadu or on the Daintree River. Look for what seems to be a log on a mud bank.
How to help
Salties were hunted almost to extinction and have recovered under protection. In croc country, obey the warning signs: it keeps you both safe.
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