Australia’s Northern Territory is home to two types of crocodiles, the Estuarine and Freshwater Crocodile. With over 100,000 of them lurking in our local waterways, here is a list of over 50 fabulously fun and freaky crocodile facts in easy-to-read groups of five.

So here we go…

Five basic things about crocodiles

They’re cold-blooded reptiles that like to bask in the tropical sun to stay warm.

And coz of this habit they call a group of crocodiles a bask!

They live to 100 years old (have one in the neighbourhood who’s about that old) and they weigh up to one tonne! And they are freaking smart! I mean super smart and cunning.

They can sprint as fast as a horse! But only for a short distance on Land. So, they’re good at lunging.

But they can jump their full body length clear out of the water.

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Five nicknames for crocodiles

1. Croc

Croc is such an obvious nickname, but it has to be said, in case you’ve never heard it before. But there’s more…

2. Saltie

Saltie is shortened for saltwater crocodile, coz we’re Aussies, we shorten every word.

3. Sweetheart

Sweetheart is the name of the famous local crocodile who terrorized many boats in our region. He was eventually captured and is now on display at our local museum.

4. The lounging lizard

Does this really need an explanation? They are a lizard.

5. The living fossil

They are dated from the dinosaurs, you know.

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The locals also call them:

Everything gets at least a nickname or two. No wonder many people get confused about things. So as part of the Local Lingo, here are a few terms to add to your dictionary, you can thank me gator!

1. Snapping handbags

2. Shoes-still-walking

3. Snappy sandals

4. Boots-to-be-made

Mmm, I’m seeing a theme here.

Five weird things about crocodiles

1. The bird is their closest relative.

Yep, you read that right the birds are crocodiles cousins of some kind, so said the investi-gator and scientists. It turns out alligators and crocodiles are actually distant relatives, kind of like a dog is to a cat.

2. They’re a submarine.

They can’t breathe underwater, but they can lie in wait underwater for an hour by slowing down their heart rate. Just so they can watch you! Scary, huh?

3. Crocodiles truly do cry!

The famous alligator-tears of despair are a natural occurrence when crocodiles swallow too much air when eating, thus making the tears flow. Tissues anyone?

4. Crocodiles can sleep with one eye open.

Apparently, they’re like the dolphin who can sleep with an eye open. How bizarre!

Five baby things about the crocodile

Without getting into the birds and bees and what came first the crocodile or the egg…

The female lays over 60 eggs at a time.

This clutch takes about 80 days to hatch.

The babies chirp—like baby birds to get their mother’s attention. The adults hiss and growl, kind of like guys puffing chests before a UFC tournament.

The momma-croc will scoop them up to gently crush their shells to help their babies escape. Aww.

Then she’ll carefully (while still in mouth) take them for their first swim. Double Aww!

Busting Five Myths about crocodiles

1. Crocs eat their babies.

No. It’s actually the other crocs that will eat them, which leads to a 90% + mortality infant rate.

2. A bird cleans the crocodile’s teeth!

Where did this come from? So that’d be a no. Because crocodiles will eat the bird’s beak and all.

3. They’re deaf.

No. Definitely not. They have excellent hearing and exceptional night vision capabilities even for under water, which is part of the traits that make them one of the deadliest hunters on the planet. I kid you not.

4. Their skin in bulletproof.

Not true… Well, kind of not, but… Okay, the skin is tough. Really tough. Aand the top layers on their back contain bony structures, called osteoderms, that are considered bullet proof. So the researchers say…

5. Crocs eat all the time.

Nope. They average only 50 feeding times a year, as they can live off their own body fat for extended periods of time. The females will fast while nesting and protecting her babies. Oh, and they feed little during winter as they need the warmer weather to help them digest their food.

Five Local Legends about crocodiles

With over 40 different indigenous languages groups they have their stories about the crocodiles. Here are a few…

Some Dreamtime stories suggest that the crocodile was created from a woman escaping punishment (or marriage) from the elders. She rolled and rolled into the river to escape her captors’ grips, where the spirits turned her into a crocodile to seek her revenge.

The scales of a crocodile are said to have come from a wife finding her murdered husband entangled in his fishing net. In her grief, she wrapped the net around herself, then rolled into the river entangling herself, to join her husband where the spirits changed her. Some say she seeks her revenge to this day on those murderers.

Another is an old man who could not hunt for himself anymore, so he created the crocodile to hunt for his creator.

Crocodile, called the Dungalaba, is the Larrakia people’s totem for strength and courage.

For our Timorese cousins, the stones found in the crocodile’s stomach (see Five ways to never smile at a crocodile below) are considered sacred. And, in China, certain dried out body parts are used to make an aphrodisiac.

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Five ways to eat crocodile

The crocodile meat is considered a superfood, high in protein and lean in fat and all sorts of other goodies! The best meat to eat is from the tail where its white meat tastes like a fishy-chicken. Think calamari, just bigger. And gamier. Yes, you can eat all parts, but the meat can be quite tough.

So here are a few easy suggestions:

1. The slow-cooked curry

Crocodile meat is great for slow-cooked dishes like a curry.

2. Kebabs

Use your favourite chicken marinade recipe for skewers (kebabs) with crocodile meat for your next barbecue.

3. Salt’n pepper Croc

This salt and pepper crocodile is amazing. Just take care to not overcook it like calamari.

4. Croc Crepes

You can’t go past the crocodile crepes. It was a favourite among the visitors as it’s a gentle way to introduce people to this exotic cuisine. They’re made the same as the seafood crepe. Here’s a tip, if you don’t like the game flavour, you can always soak it in milk for a few hours before adding.

5. The Crocodile Eggs

Crocodile eggs can be eaten. But they’re not normal eggs as they have no yolks and offer little nutrients. But health experts claim that crocodile eggs can lower cholesterol and have a positive effect on combatting heart disease.

Bonus round:

Crocodiles are not normally hunted as part of Aboriginal culture. But the roasted intestines are considered a delicacy by some Aboriginal elders.

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Five more random things about crocodiles

The famous crocodile death roll is not only for drowning their prey but to shake their meat into smaller pieces.

Crocodiles have no sweat glands, so they pant like a dog with mouths open.

The saltwater crocodile can live in both salt and fresh water or both, they’re not picky.

They have outlived the dinosaurs with little change in their overall body structure. Why fix what isn’t broken right! Just sayin’…

Oh, and when it comes to breeding baby preferences, crocodiles don’t determine their sex by chromosomes but by the weather! Oh, snap.

Five reasons to never smile at a crocodile

They have about 60-110 teeth. That’s a mouth full!

But that’s not all folks, they come with a dental plan to make any dentist go broke because the crocodile has backup teeth ready to rumble. This means they have this tooth making factory going on in their jaw, where they can replace their teeth 50 times in a lifetime that up to 4,000 teeth. Snap!

The crocodile has the strongest bite on the animal planet. Read that again.

But they can’t chew! Yep, those massive crunching jaw-dropping teeth can’t do the grind, but the crush! Hence the death roll to make smaller pieces and stones. What’s with the stones you may be asking…

To help a crocodile digest their food, they swallow small stones to do the grinding in their iron guts. And they also have an insanely high concentration of acid in their stomachs to help them digest things like bird’s beaks and buffalo horns.

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Five easy places you can find crocodiles in the Top End

The Top End is the nickname for the northern region of the Northern Territory. It’s famous for Kakadu National Park where Crocodile Dundee made that movie. So, when and if you visit the Top End, you’ll no doubt end up in the small tropical city of Darwin.

So we’ll start from there…

1. Crocosaurus Cove

In the heart of Darwin City, you can swim in the cage of death to get up close and personal with a crocodile. It’s right across the road from the pub, and it’s also one of the coolest places to have your next child’s birthday party at. Didn’t I earn some mom-points that year!

2. Crocodylus Park

Heading out of town, visit this zoo-style crocodile research centre. They have regular crocodile displays, and their in-house museum is impressive. Also, it’s a great place for picking up any crocodile meat for your trek to Kakadu.

3. Jumping Crocodile Cruises

Leaving the suburbs of Darwin, you’ll venture down the Stuart Highway (the one and only road in and out of the place) to go to Kakadu National Park, where you’ll turn left onto the Arnhem Highway. Past the world-famous Humpty Doo pub (that is great for lunch) then follow the signs for the next lot of crocodile attractions. You can’t miss them.

With two operators working beside each other, you can flip a coin as to which tour to take.

They’re both the same.

What they’ve done is they’ve trained wild crocodiles to show up for feeding times. Kind of like when they say, don’t feed the animals in the wild…. Hmmm.

Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles

Jumping Croc Cruises

Here are some free places to see the wild crocs on the way to Kakadu National Park

There are other opportunities along the way as you travel down the Arnhem Highway, you head deeper into croc-country. Wild man-killing kind of territory. So, there are a few safe spaces to do some croc-spotting. Just look for the signs on the Arnhem Highway and they’re easy to find.

4. Shady Camp.

Shady camp is lousy with them as a fishing spot. To get off the beaten track, you’ll drive down the dirt road to the Shady Camp boat ramp. Tucked away on the far left, away from the boat ramp, you can follow a windy track through the trees to a viewing platform. You’ll find plenty of crocodiles lurking there.

Or you can take your chances and see them surfing the barrage by the boat ramp.

And if you happen to get on a boat, you’ll see so many of them along the banks you’ll be sick of the sight of them.

5. Cahills crossing

Cahills Crossing is considered one of the deadliest crossings in the world because it’s a notorious spot where basks of crocodiles will lay in wait for someone to get their car trapped on the waterway. And it happens. All. The. Time.

It’s also a brilliant spot for fishing, and for the crocs to do some surfing — which is incredible to watch via the safe viewing platform nearby.

Bonus: Yellow Waters Boat Ramp

Just a little before you arrive at the Cooinda resort, you’ll find the turnoff to the Yellow Waters Boat Ramp. At dusk and dawn, shine the light across the billabong and you’ll see the many shiny eyes staring at you! Pst, that’s not public knowledge right as it may be risky in doing this, so do be Croc-wise in this event. I know this because I used to work at Cooinda. It was a great after-hours sport, spotting the croc with the spotlight for the staff. And to scare a carload of kids into behaving! (Mom joke!)

Five tips for keeping safe around crocodiles

Crocodiles are always on the prowl and are highly reactive trained killers. They’re the ultimate opportunist, who have outlived dinosaurs to make them the king of the food chain for a reason. They’re cunning and stealthy. And deadly. Yes, they’ve killed plenty of people over the years. Too many. Which is why I won’t and don’t go swimming anywhere.

Some of the following safety tips are so obvious and it’s just common sense. Most of all, it’s about keeping you safe… Remember those words – Keep. Safe.

1. Don’t swim!

No matter how well dressed you are—you’re still edible art to the crocodile!

Look, there are days when it’s like you’re walking around in a fan-forced oven, and the temptation to take a quick dip to swim. Please. Don’t.

Consider any water, river, lake, billabong, stream etc, even the ocean has a lurking predator hiding beneath the shimmery surface. It’s their home and they are always on the lookout for the next feed, and they’ll spot YOU before they see them.

So, only swim in designated areas, but be wary that crocs can still sneak in there at any time. Backyard swimming pools are perfect.

For those who do venture off the beaten track, always treat any waterway like it’s got a crocodile.

2. Never harass or feed them!

No explanation required.

3. When fishing:

Because we are home to the mighty fighting barramundi, fishing is a popular pastime. If you do decide to get the line wet from the bank, don’t paddle along the water’s edge for too long. And stay at least five metres back when fishing.

Going in a teeny tiny inflatable boat or want to kayak in Kakadu? Think again! Some crocs are over Five metres long and weigh a tonne of trouble.

If you go on a boat, never let your hands dangle over the sides, or dip them in the water. Crocodiles are watching, ready to steal your fish while you’re reeling your catch in. I’ve lost a few Instagram-beauties because of this. Scared the ^+#@ outta me. :O)

4. When camping:

Try to camp at least 50 metres away from any waterways—which is also good for avoiding the mosquitos away too. Rooftop tents are gold for this.

If you must go near the water, don’t go to the same spot twice to wash your hands, or fill the water bucket, they’ll be lying in wait for that.

Never wash food, or clean your fish etc, by the water because that’s asking for trouble.

5. Keep pets away:

Crocs love pets! Countless pets have been snatched by these guys. Come on, if you were a crocodile, which would you prefer, feral pig, donkey or buffalo or a prime piece of poodle. Just sayin, they’re the perfect appetising bite-sized morsel of delight. So please consider keeping the pet poodle close by! FYI, pets aren’t allowed to visit Kakadu National Park.

Five Local Territorian things about crocodiles

Crocodiles are a protected species and are vitally important to this region’s ecosystem. Remember, they are the king of the food chain.

The crocodile have an inbuilt homing beacon that enables them to walk hundreds of kilometres to find their home, so relocating them to other waterways has proved futile.

They have a significant indigenous cultural aspect, as mentioned earlier. There is also the Crocodile Islands, home to aboriginal ceremonies off the coast of Arnhem Land. It’s managed by the Crocodile Rangers.

Tourism is the obvious industry for many locals. But did you know you too can sleep in a crocodile? It’s the Crocodile hotel in Jabiru? Pst… from this local’s point of view, we don’t recommend it. We stayed there last Christmas, and it was disastrous! The rooms were such a shocker, they had to shift us three times to find one that was clean. The ceiling was caving in, taps fell off the sink, and it was so overpriced for everything! Camp in your car or go elsewhere. But do check out the local art they have out for display in the foyer.

Crocodile farming is another big industry, but not just for their meat but for their valued leathery skins. So, you know how battery-eggs are farmed, croc-farms are sort of the same. Just picture those glasshouses for tomatoes, except under the roof you’ll find a large sterilised cement pond filled with baby crocodiles, who never see daylight, but they are guarded, in triple barbed wire high-security setups. Those crocodile farms are owned by Hermes, Moet, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, etc. So, next time you see a $150,000 Hermes bag chained to the store’s floor in the display section of the department store, you know where it came from.

Why the croc facts?

As an author living in the Northern Territory, readers have asked me about living with crocodiles. For me, it’s a way of life. Don’t get me wrong, crocodiles are real and terrifying, but they are also fascinating creatures. As they are a part of my lifestyle, they’re in my stories too…

In Run Beautiful Run you’ll learn of the lady of the local billabong, a queen of her territory, and the heart-stopping scene that had many readers on the edge of their seats! Go on, it’s a big one for the books! Ha.

Generating the most correspondence is the much-loved crocodile called Karma from the Elsie Creek Series. This disabled saltie is rescued by a man wearing crocodile-leather boots, where the croc soon wins this small outback town’s respect for his outstanding talent.

What is that talent? You can find out by starting the series here!

Lastly, if visiting the Top End region, please always be wary of crocodiles. Don’t be a victim of a crocodile attack to become a statistic. If you think about it, they were here first…

Be safe. Be Croc-wise. And enjoy your adventure.