• Tag Archives crocodylus niloticus
  • Nile crocodile takes on elephant

    The site has been pretty slow for the past couple of months as academic life has eaten up a lot of my free time. That should change in a few weeks (and I do have a doozy of a post I have been working on).

    For now though I leave folks with this amazing photographic account of a Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) attacking an adult mother elephant (Loxodonta africana).

    Photos by Martin Nyfeler. Be sure to click on the image for the full account of what took place (complete with more photos)

    Whether, or not the crocodile meant to try this, or if this was an accidental predation attempt remains unknown. While this might be the first time this was caught on film, it is not the only account of this. Nile crocs have been known to attempt to take down large elephants by grabbing onto their trunks. The initial attack is almost always unsuccessful, but if the croc winds up doing enough damage it can result in the elephant dying days later (as a broken trunk pretty much limits all access to food). Not sure if the crocs ever benefit from this, but the fact that they can kill large adults is enough to make them a formidable threat to any thirsty elephant.