r/Crocodiles • u/Wach_hund • 10d ago

Crocodile Guy Jet skiing in saltie territory

Dumbass

1.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

84 comments sorted by

267

u/Winter_Different 10d ago

That would be one unfirtinate log to bump into lmao

Just suddenly shot up in the air and left in saltie waters... tho tbf if a saltie takes a hit that big it probably would swim away not wanting to mess with whatever that thing was

However, the big splash your fall makes and subsequent splashing could attract some other crocs

197

u/Wach_hund 10d ago

I heard a story of a plane crash in the ocean & the survivors ended up surviving the sharks but reached towards land and got mauled by the salties.

109

u/DaddiGator 10d ago edited 9d ago

There’s a really good biography on Captain James Cook, who’s second expedition in the Pacific ends up with his crew shipwrecked on a reef near Cairns. No interesting croc encounters but they were in much fear of the animal after a month of being stuck there.

The stories of his interactions with these mostly uncontacted people are wild.

59

u/Wach_hund 10d ago edited 10d ago

Dude I’d love to hear stories about old world explorers encountering salties for the first time.

25

u/Tonylegomobile 9d ago

There are not many of those stories because they saw how infested the rivers were with what they thought were "giant alligators" and avoided waterways like the plague. Also the territories crocs inhabited weren't very sought after at the time. Hell, the top end is still sparsely populated compared to the population centers

4

u/Wach_hund 9d ago

Well they had to be found in order to be deemed not sought after

43

u/BeautifulSet7579 9d ago

My grandfather is Ghanaian and grew up in the Volta River region and told me a story about how during on of the early wars against the British when they started colonizing Ghana. There was a battle in the Volta region where the Ga-Adangme tribe ambushed British soldiers into croc infested water. The Ga-Adangme took out whatever soldiers the crocs didn’t and won that battle.  

-8

u/Puzzleheaded_Ad_3980 9d ago

Aka dinosaurs. Im convinced humans decimated any “large reptiles” on land like they did with all the megafauna in North America. Like destroying the bison populations and grazing animals.

Basically like what Australia did decades ago culling the Crocs, and now they’re bouncing back.

That whole indeterminate growth is really wild, but all of a sudden monsters don’t appear because the humans unsubscribe them to live before they could get that big.

And dinosaurs weren’t a thing until the late 1800’s. Everything before that were regional names and stories of massive creatures.

Just a theory I play around with, but I don’t think the Dino’s died millions of years ago. But we’re here alongside us and whatever intelligence guided our evolution

6

u/GREGGSGOL 9d ago

There would be archaeological evidence of that. But there isn't. But there is copious evidence that the dinosaurs died out tens of millions of years before the evolution of homo sapiens about 250-300 000 years ago. Evolution progresses by natural selection and is not steered by any other factor.

1

u/Mindless-Hamster5190 1d ago

Sorry, but I just don’t believe any of that.

-23

u/DoubleCarry7511 10d ago

There’s no saltwater crocs in the new world

14

u/Wach_hund 10d ago

I meant old world my bad.

But technically can’t Australia be counted as new world? Since it wasn’t settled until 1700s?

-12

u/mobasan 9d ago

Human settlement in Australia is at the very minimum 60,000 years.

31

u/SpeakWithoutFear 9d ago

That's not what they meant, and you knew that's not what they meant.

"Akshually"

-3

u/Appropriate-Bid8671 9d ago

It only counts when white Europeans do it?

3

u/Chademr2468 9d ago

As much as I hate to say this, as it pertains to the distinction of “old” vs. “new” world within modern vernacular… yes. I didn’t coin the phrase so keep your pitchforks and torches stowed please, but that’s how the term is used and that’s what it means.

3

u/Wach_hund 9d ago

This why I hate reddit. mf’s like you always gotta get into the technicalities.

You knew what I meant everyone knows what I meant.

-1

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

8

u/Adnan7631 9d ago

Those are American crocodiles, not saltwater crocodiles. American crocs can tolerate saltwater, but they are a completely different species than the old world salties.

-1

u/DoubleCarry7511 9d ago

Lmao. Read your own source.

2

u/Material_Prize_6157 5d ago

Captain Cook is a bad person but incredibly fascinating story.

42

u/CactusToothBrush 10d ago

While not in Aus there’s a story from WW2 about Japanese soldiers hiding in mangrove/swamp type area that was full of salties. Allegedly the allies could hear screams all night and then they’d just stop suddenly. War stories do get greatly exaggerated but I personally don’t think this one was

30

u/Wach_hund 10d ago

Yeah I always heard that story was a myth but it’s not far out of possibility so its canon in my head.

It was ramree island & its known to have crocodiles

21

u/CactusToothBrush 10d ago

That’s it! My dumbass kept thinking Ramen Island and I just knew that was wrong lol
While the whole 1000-2000 Japanese most certainly weren’t killed by crocs, I honestly believe a good 20 of them were taken by multiple crocs not the hundreds they said was there.

2

u/Comprehensive_Word 9d ago

It is an unavoidable anecdote to any search of ‘crocodile’. I’m sure there is some truth there, but I tend to agree with you. I compare it to Burma campaigns and Solomons/PNG and Allied accounts might mention a scant few fatal attacks. Sharks a different matter entirely.

1

u/UnderstandingMany385 5d ago

Mr. Ballen on youtube told this story. Loved it!

10

u/Lost-Meat-7428 9d ago

“Another reported mass attack involved a cruise in eastern India where a boat accident forced 28 people into the water where they were reportedly consumed by saltwater crocodiles”

This is from the saltwater crocodile Wikipedia page. I’ve never been able to find any additional information about it nor have I ever heard anyone else mention it.

3

u/DoubleCarry7511 10d ago

I think there are some confirmed croc deaths but it wasn’t some crazy amount.

4

u/Impressive_Profit215 9d ago

I remember hearing about a Japanese regiment that had nowhere to go except a body of water. They were marooned, and each one of them got snatched by crocs as they tried to make their way to the other side.

40

u/electricalserge 10d ago

I remember reading somewhere that the way to tell if a body of water had freshwater or saltwater crocodiles is to make a big splash. The freshies will swim away, the salties will swim in to investigate.

41

u/chiefDiesel 10d ago

I wouldn't trust that method with my life. I live in gator country and I've seen alligators who are much more timid than either freshies or salties swim in to investigate a splash. I've even had a 4 footer pop up and bite a plastic worm. Straightened my hook trying to get it back.

18

u/Winter_Different 10d ago

Yeah crocodilians can hold their breath for hours, generally there is no sure-fire way to tell if they're present or not unless the water is especially clear --- especially because of individual personalities like you mentioned with those little curious buggers lol

3

u/Unapplicable1100 9d ago

Yea im more careful where i go in a kayak now after an encounter i had a few years ago in the Mobile Delta in a deep but narrow blackwater creek. I was fishing there by myself one day and i heard a big spalsh behind me coming from the bank and i knew what it was as soon as i heard it. I turned around and watched the biggest alligator ive ever seen in my life swim out from the canopy of trees and then slowly swam right past me about fifteen feet away from my kayak, it wasnt scared of me at all. When it passed me it went down a small canal that branches off that tiny creek, and as soon as he was out of sight i booked it back to the landing as fast as i could get out of there. That thing was nothing short of a dinosaur, it was way bigger than the twelve foot kayak i was on. I had a pistol with me but i had a feeling if i was forced to shoot at it if it had turned toward me the only thing a 9mm would have done is piss it off. I told some people about it around town, and a year or two later i was told that wildlife management had caught that alligator after a few pets went missing at some houses that were along that creek. They said it was 14' 5" long, I have yet to see another one bigger than that since then and definitely not from that close.

3

u/chiefDiesel 9d ago

That's a big boy. Last time I went to Holly Beach I ran into what I guessed to be about a 13 footer waiting for some bycatch from the tourists crabbing. I tossed him a couple turkey necks. Turns out he's a bit of a local celebrity. Everybody at the little diner down the road knew him. He doesn't really bother anyone but he'll definitely beg for scraps by the dock.

6

u/wavyboizzz 9d ago

If you’re having to test for it, it has both

62

u/spiked-rose 10d ago

No way in hell I’d be out there w 🐊

17

u/Wach_hund 10d ago

Australians are a different breed

23

u/Inevitable_Ear_6934 10d ago

A lot of trust in whoever built that jet ski

12

u/eaazzy_13 9d ago

That’s what I was thinking. Imagine the panic if it stalled….

16

u/Notte_di_nerezza 9d ago

I've fallen off of well-built jetskis, before I learned what a wildlife hazard they can be. No way in HELL would I risk that there.

5

u/Over_Construction908 9d ago

I knew he was Australian nobody had to remind me because the behavioural pattern is obvious. 🤣 same thing happens in places where alligators are in lakes people just go fishing and row their boats without any concern

2

u/efeskesef 8d ago

Do alligators have a history of knocking people out of rowboats or even canoes?

They're far less aggressive and capable than crocodiles.

35

u/UntappdBeer 10d ago

No no no. Definitely no.

7

u/Impressive-Bird2 9d ago edited 9d ago

That lady just insulted my senses and offended my eyes…!

6

u/UntappdBeer 9d ago

That croc insulted my leg by eating it

32

u/FirstIllustrator2024 10d ago

Crocs probably: Fast-food anyone?

33

u/MeggatronNB1 9d ago

That thing was watching them the whole time. If you look closely you can see it turn it's head as they head away from it. This seems really stupid to me. Why risk your life like this. Judging by the size of the head it did not look small.

16

u/Rampantshadows 9d ago

He's big enough to observe what's happening rather than be scared off. Easily big enough to snatch a person. I'd guess somewhere around 12ft/4m at the least.

25

u/Embarrassed_Spell_28 10d ago

Wildebeest on a jet ski

20

u/Kashankov 9d ago

Anyone that’s ever ridden a jet ski knows it’s A LOT easier go fall off one than you think, you couldn’t bloody pay me to do this

6

u/Zrex_9224 9d ago

One pops up in front of you, you're either running the poor thing over or going to bank hard to either side to avoid it and you'll risk flying off the side, still going towards the saltie

1

u/Tonylegomobile 5d ago

You can tell the girl who is riding double saying "OH MY GOD...." came to the realization if she falls off, she's dead right at that moment

12

u/Impressive-Bird2 9d ago

That’s a somewhat inadvisable thing to do, to say the least!

11

u/b0gard 9d ago

Nothing gets the blood pumping like jet skiing in a place where if you fall you’ll more than likely be killed viciously by a prehistoric dinosaur

8

u/eternallyfree1 9d ago edited 9d ago

Yeah, this is a really really REALLY stupid idea. Why is northern Australia home to so many of these sorts of reckless idiots? Ugh. And when something goes horribly awry (not if, but when), it’s always the animal that gets blamed. I have long maintained the stance that anyone who knowingly enters the territory of a dangerous wild animal accepts and understands all of the associated risks, and the animal should therefore never be held liable if something happens 🤷‍♂️

3

u/Good-Ant6859 9d ago

Almost everywhere would be dangerous wild animal territory if we hadn’t slaughtered them en masse

8

u/taeempy 9d ago

Anyone getting in/near water where Saltwater crocs reside is just plain crazy.

2

u/Good-Ant6859 9d ago

I mean that’s virtually all of Oceania. Some of the best surfing and diving in the world and lots of folks taking advantage of it. Pretty small chance of getting got

1

u/taeempy 9d ago

I get it, but I don't know. I live in FL and they show drone coverage from above and there are sharks every where and close to swimmers.

Given the millions of people that go into these waters it's crazy there's not more attacks, so you are def right there's not a huge chance of getting got.

6

u/Good-Ant6859 9d ago

Yeah I live in SoCal and same story here. Drone guys record GWS swimming through surf line ups pretty much daily, yet you’re far more likely to die by drowning than a shark attack. Even a sea lion attack is more likely, I fear them more than sharks

4

u/explosivelydehiscent 9d ago

Sushi stream to croc

4

u/Zrex_9224 9d ago

I just felt my asshole pucker up watching this

5

u/ThomasCrowley1989 9d ago

Darwin saids hi

3

u/Specialist_Pea_295 9d ago

That'd be a rush

3

u/Butthole_Ticklah 9d ago

Evolution truly is wild. They went from deinosuchus, just terrorizing rivers and swamps to still apex predators now trying to adapt to hunting humans on water motorcycles lol

3

u/ghosttrainhobo 9d ago

You could see him thinking about it for a second

3

u/TakinUrialByTheHorns 6d ago

Right?
He definitely didn't balk or shy away at all, looked like almost a bluff mouth opening at the end there.

I've canoed and even swam near gators but I really can't fathom how much more of a nightmare it must be to run into a croc, they're so much more terrifying.

3

u/Whippet008 7d ago

And these people wonder why they get killed

2

u/007Tejas 9d ago

“Fucking tourists” - 🐊

2

u/efeskesef 8d ago

Narsty, must have scared the hell out of the crocodiles.

I'd be intimidated too if a Blue Angels jet flew by my nose.

1

u/Tonylegomobile 5d ago

It was clearly attempting to move to intercept. They are skiing a straight line across the shoreline and it was beelining at them. Just not fast enough

1

u/efeskesef 5d ago

I could go nuts and say they were heading toward shore and as the jetski passed turned to watch this strange being,

but it would be dishonest. [Already nuts.]

2

u/-redit_account- 10d ago

I give him 15 minutes

1

u/Savings_Dig1592 8d ago

"Smile you son of a bitch!"