Crocodile Eats Sea Turtle Shell On Beach Then Waddles Away With Very Full Belly


A salt water crocodile ate a sea turtle shell before waddling off the beach a full stomach. Footage of the crocodile eating the sea turtle quickly captured by park range Dani Best went viral. The crocodile seat turtle shell incident was witnessed at Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in the Darwin Region of Australia.

The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle is classified as a threatened species. Incredible still images of the saltwater crocodile dining on the sea turtle shell on the remote Northern Territory Park have mesmerized online viewers. Park ranger Dani Best found the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle washed ashore several weeks ago. Best figures that the threatened sea turtle was killed by a “ghost net.” The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle the park ranger found while removing trash from the beach on the Cobourg Peninsula, is also known as the Lepidochelys olivacea species.

saltwater crocodile
Saltwater crocodile eating a sea turtle shell.

The Northern Territory park ranger cut the netting away and set up a wildlife monitoring camera to capture the activities of other native wildlife as they came to investigate the sea turtle. The crocodile viral video footage aptly displayed the ferocity of the reptile’s bite as it crushed the outer shell of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle quickly and easily, as it searched for the meat inside.

Endangered sea turtle shell eaten by saltwater crocodile.
Endangered sea turtle shell eaten by saltwater crocodile.

Crocodylus Park owner Grahame Webb said a crocodile’s bite carried about three tons of pressure. “No other animal on the planet has a comparable bite force to a crocodile,” Webb said.

The Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory is “responsible for a comprehensive system of land and marine protected areas across the Territory – managing over 90 parks and reserves for conservation and nature based recreation and tourism. The Park and Reserve system encompasses over 45,000 square kilometres, from the arid Centre to the tropical Top End, approximately three to five percent of the Territory’s land mass. Thirty two of the over 90 parks and reserves are jointly managed in partnership with Aboriginal people,” according to the wildlife website.

If you are planning on visiting the Australian Norther Territory parks, or basically anywhere saltwater crocodiles are known to live, the Australian wildlife website offers these words of caution, “When it comes to crocodiles, the Northern Territory Government takes your safety seriously, but ultimately how you behave around crocodile habitats is your responsibility. It must be assumed that any body of water in the Top End may contain large and potentially dangerous crocodiles.”

What do you think of the saltwater crocodile eating the sea turtle shell incredible images?

[Images via: Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission]

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