Salt Water Crocodile | Digital Tour

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Hi guys, welcome to Ballarat Wildlife Park. My name's Jess and I'm one of the reptile keepers and behind me we do have Crunch, our 5-m long saltwater crocodile. Now, in the habitat, you might also notice another saltwater crocodile. Her name is Bella and there is a bit of a size difference between the both. Crunch is 5 m and Bella is at the 2.8 m mark. You'll never see a female saltwater crocodile anywhere over 3 m. 3-m crocodiles and over are always going to be a male saltwater crocodile.

[00:00:30]There is a bit of a backstory behind Crunch. He's actually a wild-caught saltwater crocodile that was located up in the Lockhart River, which is far north Queensland. Now, he was deemed a problem croc, which meant that he was hanging around a boat dock where people were illegally throwing in their fish guts, which hopefully we are aware that if you are caught intentionally or unintentionally feeding a saltwater crocodile in crocodile country, you will get caught with a hefty fine. Crunch was nicknamed Two Teeth Danny as a trap was set out for him and he managed to get out of two of those three traps. Luckily enough, on the third trap, he was caught and relocated to a crocodile farm where he was supposed to live the rest of his life there.

[00:01:11]Unfortunately, Crunch was not paying his rent. He was not breeding in that facility. Therefore, he was either going to be killed or he needed to find a new home.

[00:01:20]Greg Parker got wind of this, the owner of Ballarat Wildlife Park. He then moved Crunch up from far north Queensland all the way down to Ballarat where he now calls it home.

[00:01:29]Although they breeding at that facility, once they've come down here to Ballarat Wildlife Park, they have bred every single year together and that means for us that we're doing something right, but also that we have happy and healthy crocodiles.

[00:01:43]All crocodilians have a nictitating membrane, which pretty much, in simple terms, means a third eyelid, which allows them to see underneath water.

[00:01:52]Unlike us, we have to use goggles and it also acts as windscreen wipers. So, when they're skimming across the water, it allows them to wipe all the debris off that they might be picking up. When you look at our saltwater crocodiles, Crunch and Bella, you'll notice that they've got raised scales, which are called osteoderms. Osteoderms have gel sacs in them, which allow them to pick up vibrations in the water, and it also allows them to swim underneath the water without rippling the surface whatsoever.

[00:02:21]It was scientifically researched and tested that a 3.5 m saltwater crocodiles pounds per square inch, PSI, was at 3,700, which to put into perspective, a 5 m saltwater crocodile like Crunch, the PSI would be around the 6,000 mark. You are more likely to survive falling from a two-story building with a Land Cruiser falling on top of you, than the bite force of a 3.5 m saltwater crocodile.

[00:02:50]If you plan on visiting Crocodile Country here in Australia, we ask that you read all of the be croc-wise signs, and make sure that you stay a minimum of 5 m away from the water's edge. Don't go swimming in it, and if the water looks wet, don't go in it.

[00:03:05]We hope you've learned something through this video. If you have any other questions, you can ask our friendly reptile team, and if you want to see our beautiful saltwater crocodiles get fed, you can see them on Saturdays and Sundays.