When we were in Costa Rica, we took a crocodile tour on the Tarcoles river. Before this, I never had been up close to these predators so we enjoyed watching them in their natural environment. In hindsight, I did not like how this tour actually baited the crocodiles to make them perform for us. But we got to see a real life predator eating a crocodile!
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Costa Rica Crocodile Tour
Recommended by our hotel (free stay using Hilton Honors points ), Jose’s Crocodile River tour explored the Tarcoles River. So many crocodiles and not enough time, so we actually took it twice that week.
First a Few Fun Facts about Crocodiles
Before we reveal our the #1 predator of crocodiles, let us take a deeper look at these ancient giants.
Crocodiles Continually Grow New Teeth
While humans and many other mammals have to make do with two sets of teeth, crocodiles are more efficient. Growing new teeth all their life, they never need to visit a dentist. Which is good because not many dentists would consent to treat a crocodile, given their reputation.
They are fearsome predators (the crocodiles, not the dentists). They look like a submerged log, and seemingly harmless, until they spot their prey and pounce! Or actually bite down, and drown their prey.
Stone Soup
Did you know that crocodiles eat stones? On purpose? The stones seem to serve two purposes. Mainly they help to grind up food in the crocodile’s stomach, since crocs don’t bother chewing their meal. Secondly, because stones are heavy, they help with staying underwater longer, hiding from their prey but always watching for an opportunity.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Because crocodiles bury their eggs in the sand, it can be hard to judge when they are ready to hatch. So baby crocodiles start making noises, inside the egg, to alert the mother that they are ready for this life adventure thing.
When she hears their tiny voices, mom will dig up the eggs, and patiently wait for the actual hatching. After they are out, she will carry them in her mouth to the water’s edge. Once in the water they eat insects at first while the mother crocodile stays around to defend them from predators. Or at least tries to.
Crocodiles are the Largest Reptile on Earth
After the dinosaurs became extinct, crocodiles raised to the status of largest reptile. Living in salt or brackish water, the salt water crocodile can grow to a length of 20 feet (6.5 meter).
Hard to imagine that any other animal can be a predator of crocodiles, such gigantic animals.
Innocent Cows and Hungry Crocodiles
While we were on our tour, we noticed these happy and peaceful looking cows. Soon we discovered the sinister side story. Next to our boat, a proud and cocky looking crocodile swam past with a cow corpse in its mouth…
After seeing this, can you imagine what would be a predator of crocodiles? Read on and find out.
Are you Ready for the Predator of Crocodiles?
Somehow, especially after learning all these facts, I never had thought about crocodiles being prey. Enter the baby crocodiles. They looked a lot more like lizards and like a tasty snack. And indeed, there was a tiger heron looking for an easy prey.
All excited, our guide yelled “Look, there is a tiger heron! This is the #1 predator of baby crocodiles! Maybe we will see some action!” This was all the encouragement the tiger heron needed…
He hopped in and snatched up a baby crocodile! Carpe Diem! This was a totally unexpected treat and so much better than seeing our tour guides bait the crocodiles. Nature at its best, eat or be eaten! Mother crocodile came out and tried to snatch the heron, but he happily had moved out of her way to consume his catch.
Life Expectancy of Crocodiles
It turns out only 2% of baby crocodiles make it to adulthood because of predators like this. Birds, lizards, eagles and even other crocodiles happily snack on the babies. I feel very fortunate that we got to see this first hand!
When crocodiles do make it past their vulnerable period, they can live for many decades, sometime up to 70 years. Just need to avoid these pesky predators!
Watch the Video
Tom put together a cool video featuring this tiger heron and snapping crocodiles during our river tour.
Go Take Your Own Crocodile Tour
Check out Jose’s Crocodile River Tour.
The Crocodile Bridge in Costa Rica
If you don’t want to take the tour, but still want to see crocodiles in the wild, there is a bridge over the Tarcoles river. From the bridge you can admire many sunbathing crocodiles and it is fittingly called “puente de cocodrilo,” or “crocodile bridge.“
Other Things To Do in Costa Rica
- Coffee and Chocolate! Go visit a Coffee Plantation in the cloud forest;
- Have you ever had a Churchill? Find out more about them;
- Explore Costa Rica.
Birding around the World
- Never Smile at a Crocodile! Beginner’s guide to Birding in the Everglades;
- Birds, Dolphins and Fish Poop: Discover Sian Ka’an, a UNESCO World Heritage Site;
- Eagles galore!
- Invasive Alien Birds in Hawai’i: don’t get fooled by their beauty;
- Life time bucket list: follow Thousands of Snow Geese;
- The best birding in Costa Rica;
- Explore Isla Contoy in Calcun;
- When hiking is too hard: birds on the Manoa Falls Trail;
- Kennebunkport Maine has good birding hotspots;
- Famous bird painting for booklovers: Where is The Goldfinch Painting now? and how it doesn’t even LOOK like a goldfinch;
- Lots of incidental birding on an Alaska Cruise;
- Last but not least: why birding is the best way to socially distance;
Pin The Top Predator of Crocodiles
Comments
31 responses to “Top Crocodile Predators? Don’t Miss Out on the Best!”
Wow! What an experience! I bet this was fascinating and your post is a really interesting read. Great pictures too! Hope that I will, on day, get to go on a similar adventure. I have watched loads of crocodile/Alligator documentaries on tv over the years so to see it all in real life would be something special!
Amy
http://www.missamyrach.com
Thank you, Amy. I still can picture the bird swooping in and snatching the baby. Such a surprising development!
I was thinking adult crocodile predator, so the bird caught me off guard. Also who would have thought that crocodiles constantly grow teeth!
Thank you, adele! I had no clue we would see ”eat or be eaten’ in action with the crocodile as the prey. Loved the live action scenes we witnessed!
[…] Our Carpe Diem enjoys nature, birding, and travel. Often they surprise their readers with unusual facts. For example, find out what is the #1 Predator of Crocodiles! […]
Thanks for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award! I am thrilled!
When I was younger my family would do things like this but as an adult I don’t really think it’s for me. That being stated, I’m glad you learned a lot of information about crocodiles. Since the chance of survival is so low for baby crocs, do they have a program in place to help them survive?
Thanks, Olliviette. You motivated me to read up on crocodile preservation and they are protected in most countries. I even found out that the active feeding of crocodiles is not allowed in Costa Rica, but they seem to allow on on the Tarcoles river anyway. There are calls for doing more studies on the Costa Rica crocodile population, but the country seems to be in no hurry to actually implement it.
That looks like a fun trip. Glad you shared it with us.
Thank you, Marta! It was amazing!
Wow, what a cool experience! These are the days that we remember forever—gives you such a connection to something bigger than ourselves.
Thank you, Mary! Yes, I can still close my eyes and remember the speed and awesomeness how this heron swooped in and quickly grabbed the crocodile! We got so lucky!
Woah woah woah! I didn’t know herons eats crocodiles! That seems like a fun trip!
Thank you, Jamnesreen!
I loved every moment of this boat tour. I would never have guessed that herons eat crocodiles, but it makes total sense that the baby crocs are similar to lizards from a bird’s point of view 😀
How fascinating! I love nature; it never ceases to amaze. Fabulous photos!
Thank you, Iddybiddy! I will never get tired of nature, I always learn new stuff. Love it!
Who knew that the life of a baby crocodile was so dangerous??? Thanks for sharing – interesting post and great photos, too.
Joan
My Best Friend Adeline
http://kindness-compassion-and-coaching.com
Thank you, Joan. I definitely knew next to nothing about crocodiles before we did the tour, and am still learning new facts every time I update this article!
That looks like a great tour I’d do too.
Hope you will get to go on a similar tour some day. It is pretty cool!
Great post!! We have been to a couple of different tours that find crocodiles. I have never been on one that actually baits them though! I’m not sure how much I would like that either. Seeing the bird find a croc naturally would be awesome to see. We love nature!
Glad you were able to see crocodiles in the wild. They are pretty awesome! But also glad they did not actively bait them, it just is so wrong!
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