Battle of the Crocs 🐊 | Out There with Jack Randall Full Episode | Nat Geo Kids

Key Concepts

• Saltwater Crocodile (Salties): Crocodylus porosus, the largest living reptile, highly aggressive, dominant, capable of growing up to 20 ft long and weighing a ton.
• Freshwater Crocodile (Freshies): Crocodylus johnstoni, smaller, less aggressive, typically around 5 ft long and 50 lbs, with a narrower snout compared to salties.
• Death Roll: A predatory technique used by crocodiles where they clamp onto prey and spin rapidly to dismember it or drown it.
• Bite Force: The immense pressure exerted by a crocodile's jaws, measured at 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi) for saltwater crocodiles, the mightiest of all living animals.
• Billabong: A stagnant pool of water in a riverbed, formed when a river changes course or dries up, serving as crucial water holes for wildlife during the dry season.
• Snout Rope/Cable Tie Noose: Tools used to secure a crocodile's jaws during capture for safety and handling.
• Satellite Tracker: A device attached to an animal to monitor its movements and migration patterns for research purposes.
• Zoologologist: A term used by Jack Randall, likely a blend of zoologist and ecologist, reflecting his focus on animal behavior and their environment.
• Regurgitation: The act of expelling undigested food from the stomach, observed in a captured saltwater crocodile.

Introduction: The Croc Capital and a Promise

The video features zoologist Jack Randall, who recounts a promise made to his mentor, Steve Owen, to protect crocodiles for life. Randall highlights Australia's Northern Territory as the "croc capital of the world," where two distinct crocodile species, saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, compete for territory. He emphasizes the aggressive, powerful, and deadly nature of these animals, which have dominated the food chain for over 200 million years. Randall's mission is to raise awareness about these creatures and understand the dynamics of their coexistence, particularly the threat posed by the dominant saltwater crocodiles to their smaller freshwater relatives.

Species Overview and Conflict Dynamics

Saltwater Crocodiles (Salties) Salties are the more dominant species, capable of growing up to 20 feet long and weighing a whopping ton. They are characterized by a broader snout. Since being placed on the protected list in the 1970s, their population in the Northern Territory has exploded from an estimated 3,000 to 100,000, leading to increased encroachment into new territories. Their bite force is an astounding 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), the mightiest of all living animals, enabling them to perform a "death roll" to drown and dismember prey. They are also surprisingly fast on land, recorded at 32 km/h (20 mph).

Freshwater Crocodiles (Freshies) Freshies are significantly smaller, typically reaching about 5 feet long and weighing around 50 lbs. They possess a much narrower snout and are generally less aggressive than salties. Traditionally, freshies inhabit freshwater systems, but due to the salties' population increase and territorial expansion, they are being pushed further upstream and into smaller, isolated water holes. The larger salties often prey on their smaller freshwater relatives, posing a significant threat to their survival.

Ground Zero: San Pan Creek San Pan Creek, part of the Mer River system, is identified as a "ground zero" for this conflict. It represents a boundary layer where saltwater and freshwater typically separate the two species. However, salties are increasingly crossing this boundary into freshwater zones, displacing freshies and winning the territorial battle.

Managing Saltwater Crocodiles in Human Areas

Jack Randall joins Tommy, a local expert in Darwin Harbor, who is responsible for trapping and relocating salties to ensure public safety. Darwin Harbor, a massive area with many fishermen and tourists, has seen a significant increase in salty presence, with younger crocs becoming less scared of people and appearing in backyards and swimming pools.

Crocodile Trapping Process:

1. Trap Design: Simple traps with a door, where bait (e.g., pig) hangs at the top. A crocodile smells or sees the bait, bites it, which triggers the door to drop, trapping the animal. These traps can hold very large crocs, up to 6 meters (20 ft).
2. Capture Example: A 10 ft (over 3 meters) male salty was successfully trapped.
3. Securing the Crocodile:
   • A snout rope is first applied to the top jaw.
   • A cable tie noose is then used to secure the jaws shut. The crocodile's bite force is in closing, not opening, making it easier to keep the jaws shut once closed.
   • The croc is then brought alongside the boat, and its legs are secured.
   • A blindfold is placed over its eyes to reduce stress.
4. Dangers and Power: The capture process is extremely dangerous. Tommy recounts losing two fingers and part of his hand 16 years prior during a crocodile encounter. Captured crocs exhibit immense power, thrashing violently and even bursting through cable ties. Lifting an 800 lb crocodile into a small boat requires multiple people and careful coordination to avoid tipping the boat or injury.
5. Relocation: Captured salties are relocated to areas where they pose less threat to humans.

Investigating Freshwater Crocodile Displacement

Randall travels inland to meet Charlie Manolas, a crocodile expert working in the Northern Territory since the 1970s, to investigate the impact of salties on freshies in their traditional habitats.

Billabong Surveys:

• Definition: Billabongs are isolated water holes that remain during the dry season when rivers dry up. Traditionally, these are prime habitats for freshwater crocodiles.
• Survey Methodology: The team uses nets and hand-catching techniques to survey the crocodile population in billabongs. The goal is to drive crocodiles into nets by splashing around.
• Observations:
  • In one billabong, where many large freshies were present the previous year, none were found. Instead, a small salty was spotted, indicating that salties had invaded.
  • The team eventually found a refuge billabong where numerous freshies (one, two, three, five, six counted) were hiding.
• Freshie Capture and Data Collection:
  • Freshies, despite their smaller size, still possess strong jaws and sharp teeth, requiring careful handling to avoid bites.
  • Captured freshies are secured with ropes and tape, then measured and sexed (e.g., 7 females, 2 males out of 9 captured).
  • Data is collected to understand their health and population dynamics.
• Concerns: The freshies are being pushed into smaller water holes with less food, making them vulnerable to future salty invasions.

Tracking Dominant Saltwater Crocodiles

To understand how salties are invading new territories, the team plans to catch a large, dominant male salty and attach a satellite tracker. This research is conducted in the Mary River, an area known for the highest density of crocodiles in the world. In 1979, only two salties were rumored in this tidal river; now, there are more than 2,000.

Pre-Capture Reconnaissance:

• Nighttime is preferred for capture as crocs are in the water and easier to wrangle.
• Spotlighting is used to locate and assess the size of crocodiles. A croc over 3.5 meters (12 ft) has a 99.99% chance of being male.
• A radar gun was used to measure a salty's speed on land, recording 32 km/h (20 mph).

Night Capture of a Large Male Salty:

1. Darting: Brett uses a pole with a barb to dart the back of the crocodile, which has bony plates for armor.
2. Securing the Head: Once hooked, the team works to get a top jaw rope around the crocodile's snout. This is challenging as the croc often resists opening its mouth.
3. Intense Struggle: The captured croc, estimated at 14 feet and around 800 lbs, exhibits immense power, pulling the boat, performing death rolls, and making guttural sounds described as a "T-Rex."
4. Regurgitation: During the struggle, the crocodile regurgitated a whole pig, highlighting its predatory capabilities and diet.
5. Final Securing: After a prolonged struggle, the team manages to secure the croc's jaws with a rope and blindfold it to calm it down.
6. Lifting into Boat: With the help of multiple team members, including a medic, the massive crocodile is carefully lifted into the small boat, a dangerous maneuver that almost tips the vessel.
7. Satellite Tracker Installation: A satellite tracker is attached to the back of the croc's neck using a special epoxy designed for underwater use.
8. Release: The tracked crocodile is then released back into the river.

Other Wildlife Encounters

During downtime, Jack Randall explores other creatures in the dry tropical forest:

• Huntsman Spider: A large, venomous female huntsman spider, described as "tarantula size," with visible fangs and eight eyes. Its bite would cause extreme pain and local tissue damage.
• Centipede: A fast-moving centipede with potent venom in its black fangs. Randall describes the "creepy" sensation of it crawling on his hand and t-shirt, noting the extreme pain a bite would cause.
• Green Tree Snake: A non-venomous (implied) but highly aggressive green tree snake found in a tree. It displayed threat behaviors like puffing out its body, showing its throat, and striking at Randall's hand and face, demonstrating a surprisingly fierce temperament.

Conclusion: Actionable Insights and Main Takeaways

The video powerfully illustrates the critical need for crocodile conservation and management in Australia's Northern Territory. The population explosion of saltwater crocodiles, while a conservation success story in itself, has created an ecological imbalance, threatening the survival of freshwater crocodiles.

Key takeaways include:

• Population Dynamics: The success of salty conservation has led to overpopulation and territorial expansion, creating conflict with humans and other species.
• Ecological Impact: Salties are actively displacing and preying on freshies, pushing them into less suitable habitats with limited resources.
• Research Importance: Tracking dominant salties is crucial for understanding their movement patterns and identifying key areas where freshies are most vulnerable, allowing for targeted conservation efforts.
• Danger and Dedication: The video vividly portrays the immense power and danger of saltwater crocodiles, emphasizing the bravery and dedication required by zoologists and wildlife experts to conduct research and ensure public safety.
• Interconnectedness: The fate of one species directly impacts another, highlighting the delicate balance of ecosystems and the need for comprehensive conservation strategies.

Jack Randall's journey underscores the promise to protect crocodiles, not just as individual species, but by understanding their complex interactions within their environment to ensure the long-term health of both crocodile populations.