How To ACTUALLY Survive a Crocodile Attack

Odds are that you’ve seen the movie Jaws,
and now every time you get into the wateryou can’t help but feel a bit nervous about
what may be lurking unseen around you. You push these fears out of your mind, try
to have fun and enjoy the waves, but you can’thelp yourself from looking around once in
a while for a tell-tale shark fin. Yet, it turns out that while you’re worried
about being attacked by a shark, the sneakycrocodile you were never expecting is already
on his way to eat you. Every year about five to six people die from
shark attacks, while humans kill up to onehundred million sharks, which basically is
the most one-sided war since the French surrenderin World War II. Yet crocodiles have been regularly making
a meal out of humans at a rate two hundredtimes greater than sharks, and every year
crocodiles and alligators kill an estimatedone thousand people around the world. Most of these fatalities occur in Africa,
though many Floridians and Australians havealso met their end in the jaws of these prehistoric
monsters. And we do mean prehistoric by the way, as
sharks and crocodiles are two of the onlyknown large animal species to be so evolutionarily
perfect at their jobs that they haven’t evolvedmuch since the age of the dinosaurs. Also, while the dinosaurs totally wimped out
and died to a measly asteroid the size ofNew York City, sharks and crocodiles both
pretty much shrugged off the global apocalypseand survived to terrify future generations
of mammals who would take over the world. Crocodiles are pretty terrifying stuff, and
if you’ve seen our episode Shark vs Crocodile,who would win?Then you already know that saltwater crocodiles
can grow to be much bigger than even a greatwhite shark, reaching up to a whopping 20
feet long and weigh over 2,000pounds . At those sizes you’re no longer dealing with
a crocodile, and we don’t care what scientistssay here because any reptile that big is a
freaking dinosaur. Scientists actually believe that crocodiles
never stop growing, and their maximum lifespan is unknown- and its believed that crocodiles
simply continue growing until they’ve grownso large that they can no longer hunt successfully,
or simply succumb to disease. As if size wasn’t enough, crocodiles also
have the greatest bite strength of any animalin the world, with the Nile crocodile clocking
in at an astonishing 5,000 pounds per squareinch, which is almost 3000% more powerful
than your measly bite. Saltwater crocodiles, which grow to be the
biggest in the world, thankfully have a lowerbite strength of around 3,700 pounds per square
inch. That’s thanks to the massive concentration
of jaw muscles crocs have, which is criticalfor an ambush predator that needs to ensure
it can grip prey and never let go. After all, crocs don’t have hands. . . at least
not yet. We’re sure evolution is working on this though
since mother nature is apparently dead seton making crocodiles the most terrifying animal
in history, so don’t be surprised if crocsin the future get opposable thumbs and learn
to use guns. So what happens if one of these prehistoric
killers decides to make you its next snack?How can you survive a crocodile attack?Well, we have to be honest with you and just
say that if you’re attacked in the water,things aren’t going to go well for you at
all. If a crocodile happens to snatch you while
you’re swimming, or just standing knee deepin water, odds are incredibly low you’re going
to escape with your life. If you saw our previous video on Gustave the
killer crocodile then you’re already awarethat this massive beast would regularly snatch
fishermen who were only in water up to theirknees, and drag them away before they could
react. In water crocodiles are incredibly fast, and
that’s thanks to their massive tail and itspowerful muscles. With a single flick a crocodile can push itself
off a sandbar and into deeper water, and givenhow powerful those jaw muscles are there’s
likely little you’ll be able to do about it. On land crocodiles are much slower, though
some species and smaller members are capableof surprisingly quick and short sprints, so
don’t get into the habit of taunting a land-boundcrocodile, because if you get too close it
can and will snatch you up. The reason why survival is so unlikely if
you’re attacked in water is simply down totwo quirks of crocodilian hunting behavior. This may be surprising to hear, but crocodiles
actually don’t use those massive jaws to kill,simply to maintain their grip on prey. Crocodiles are actually incapable of chewing,
so while a shark will come in for a bite andthen shear chunks of flesh off of you, a crocodile
will latch on once and then dive down deep. Since a croc can’t kill you with its jaws,
it instead tries to drown you, so as soonas you’re attacked, the crocodile is going
to dive down as deep as it can go and thenhold you there. If you do manage to start successfully fighting
back though, some crocs will simply decidethat better than losing their prey entirely,
they’ll simply take what they can. This will have the crocodile begin a feeding
behavior known as a death roll, and it isbasically exactly what it sounds like. The crocodile maintains its grip on the prey
and then simply uses its powerful musclesto twist around over and over again, eventually
shearing off large chunks of flesh. Crocodiles in danger of losing their prey
have been known to engage in this behavior,and we don’t have to tell you that this isn’t
going to end very well for you or your limbs. So the first step in surviving an attack is
to simply avoid it altogether. Never go swimming in unfamiliar areas, or
places that have been marked as unsafe forswimmers. No, ignoring that no swimming sign isn’t going
to make you look like a cool rebel that societycan’t keep down, it’s just going to turn you
into gator bait. Crocodiles and alligators tend to live around
the tropical areas of the world, so make sureif you visit or live in these areas that you
always stay within designated safe swimmingzones. And if you live in Australia the best way
to avoid a crocodile attack is to simply neverleave the house- seriously, Australia is a
madhouse of all the world’s deadliest animalsand insects, and human beings have no business
living there, so just stay indoors and uploadyour consciousness to the matrix, where the
wildlife can’t get to you. You should always be careful when around habitat
that crocodiles inhabit. This means any swampy or marshy area, and
can include lakes, ponds, rivers, estuaries,canals, and even swimming pools as many Floridians
regularly discover. You’ll usually find crocs in slow-moving water
that has a lot of mud and vegetation, whichprovides the perfect opportunity for an ambush
predator like a crocodile to attack from. However, saltwater crocodiles aren’t so named
for nothing, and they can be found on oceanbeaches and even in open water. If you’re canoeing or on a boat, don’t assume
that you’re safe, as crocodiles have beenknown to overturn boats and even snatch people
right off a boat and drag them into the water. Lastly, try and avoid the water near dusk
or at night, because this is when crocodilesare most active, though remember that they
can and do strike during day time as well. If you do notice a crocodile however, or if
you perhaps happen to fall into water withcrocodiles in it, try your best to remain
calm. Crocodiles are naturally attracted to small
animals splashing in water, so you want toswim as quickly, but as quietly and calmly
as possible back to shore while causing aslittle disturbance in the water as you can
manage. Staying under the water is even better, as
it’ll reduce the amount of splash you makeas you swim. Don’t become panicky as you swim, and do your
best to remain calm- crocodiles like manypredators are surprisingly wary animals. If prey seems uninjured or unafraid, it often
gives many predators second thoughts aboutlaunching an attack. After all, they have evolved hunting prey
that shows fear, and a prey item that showsa distinct lack of fear is often enough to
shake a predator’s confidence in launchingan attack. This might seem silly, but from the animal’s
point of view, hunting is an incredibly riskyactivity- any stray wound could possibly lead
to infection and be fatal, any injury couldprevent the animal from hunting, as could
damage to its teeth and claws. If the animal can’t hunt, it’ll starve to
death, and thus predators are surprisinglyrisk-averse creatures. If you remain calm and collected, there’s
a chance a prowling crocodile might decidethat you are more trouble than you’re worth. If you happen to run into a crocodile on land
though, once more remain calm, and then slowlywalk backwards. Again, staying calm might deter an attack,
but trying to make a panicked run for it willtypically trigger the hunt response in most
predators- at that point you’re doing exactlywhat its prey has always done and the predator
pretty much figures that you’re no differentand pose little threat. A confident animal however is an animal to
be feared, and the crocodile might figurethat you have some defenses or strength it’s
not aware of. If however the crocodile does snap or start
to charge you, now it’s time to run as fastas you can. You might have heard that you should run in
a zig-zag pattern because crocodiles can’tzig-zag very well, and this is true, they
really can’t, but this also makes you muchslower and if the crocodile is smart enough
to stay on a straight trajectory, it’ll outrunyou. On land crocodiles can top out at around 10
miles an hour , and you’ll be ableto outrun that no problem if you simply run
straight. If a croc nabs you though, then it’s time
to fight back- and fight hard. Crocodiles are covered in a thick armor plating
of hard scales, and underneath that is nothingbut thick muscle. Even if you have a knife, you’re simply not
going to do much damage to a crocodile, andthey have been known to resist even high caliber
bullets such as those from a 7. 62mm rifle. Instead, you’re going to want to go for the
first obvious vulnerable spot on the crocodile,which are the eyes. While a croc’s eyes are protected by a nictitating
membrane that protects it from water debris,it won’t be enough to prevent you from placing
a well-aimed eye gouge. If your hands are free and you can reach,
the best thing to do is to dig your fingersas deep into its eyes as you can manage, though
even just kicking at the eyes has been knownto get crocodiles to let go. Again, crocodiles as any other predator don’t
want to risk permanent damage in a singlehunt, it’s just not worth it, and if the crocodile
is afraid of losing its eyesight, it’ll moreoften than not let go. Gouging or kicking at the eyes has saved many
lives in the past. If you can’t quite reach the eyes though,
then concentrate on striking the top of thehead, closer to where the jaws begin. If you’re a bystander in a crocodile attack,
grab a stick, or even just use your fists,and wail away at the crocodile’s head. Like any animal, crocodiles don’t much like
having their bell rung. Let’s say the worst has come to pass though,
and now the animal has you under the water. It’s now waiting for you to drown, and your
best chance to survive the attack at thispoint will be to return the favor. Crocodiles have a structure in the back of
the mouth just behind the tongue known asthe palatal valve. This is a flap of tissue which completely
covers their throats when they submerge, sothat the animal can still have prey in its
jaws and not drown itself by having waterpour down its throat. You’re going to ignore how terrifying it will
be to reach even deeper into the mouth ofthe animal, and feel for this flap of tissue,
then simply strike it or grab at it. Puncturing it or even moving it out of place
will be enough to start to cause water toflow down the croc’s throat, and this will
automatically trigger the crocodile to letgo of you so it doesn’t drown. There you have it, our easy to follow steps
on how to survive a crocodile attack. Now there’s only one thing to do- get out
there and test them!Just kidding, seriously, follow our advice
and stay out of water in the wild. If you’re longing for the beach just throw
some sand in your tub and splash around init, because nobody has ever been attacked
by a crocodile in their own bathtub. How would you try to survive a croc attack?Have you ever known someone who was attacked
by a crocodile or alligator?Why do humans continue to taunt mother nature’s
wrath by living in Australia?Let us know in the comments section, and as
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