Powerful predators can often make the act of hunting prey and consuming a meal a true spectacle for lucky safari-goers to witness. In these moments, these animals show why they exist at the apex of their environments.
This hungry crocodile was caught on film by Jess van Putten at the Gardenia bird hide in the Kruger National Park, feeding by using its famous death roll, and flinging its prey through the air as if it weighed nothing at all.
This crocodile was not subtle about showing off its immense strength as it began shredding its prey down to the bone to make it easier to consume.
Ominously Below The Water
Jess’s footage begins with the ridged back of the crocodile emerging just slightly above the line of the water. This shot is ominous as the water was concealing the rest of the body below the water and its true size wasn’t clear.
Slowly, the large crocodile sank beneath the surface of the water to continue its activity. It wasn’t immediately clear what, but it was about to become very obvious.
Trouble Beneath The Surface
Once the crocodile had sunk out of sight, the water was calm for the briefest moment before it erupted into a sudden series of large splashes, and this time it was the head of the large predator which emerged from the depths to hover just above the surface.
There was something else which floated up from the bottom of the water, and for a long time it wasn’t clear what. It was definitely a carcass of some kind, but half submerged it was difficult to make it out clearly.
The initial splashing was presumably the crocodile performing a death roll on the carcass, trying to tear the meat apart into smaller chunks that would be easier to swallow. But there were other ways to devour its prey.
Making The Most Of A Meal
Jess figured out that the croc’s prey was an impala ewe, likely a young animal that had gotten close to the water to take a drink, only for the crocodile to surge out of the depths with terrifying speed and seize it by the neck or leg.
Apparently frustrated by the lack of the death roll’s efficacy, the crocodile glared at the carcass for a short moment before deciding to implement these other tactics.
Using its powerful tail and legs to launch itself and the carcass from the water, the crocodile swung the impala around as though it was weightless and whipped it in a circle, tearing off a nice chunk of meat in the process.
This moment was a display of pure power as it threw the impala, the same power that it would have used to capture it in the first place as it showed how strongly it could have surged from the water.
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An Ancient Predator
Crocodiles are incredibly old animals that have earned their place at the top of the food chain through millions of years. Coming too close to crocodile infested waters can be a death sentence for young animals that don’t understand the dangers.
Older animals would be just as vulnerable to the crocodile’s attack methods, but once captured, the crocodile must feed. This amazing footage from Jess van Putten makes it clear that crocodiles have the strength not only to capture and kill their prey, but to tear them apart.
