Ok ladies this post is not for the faint of heart.
To show you how much crushing power lies in the jaws of a saltwater crocodile, I’ll use a chart I saw in Crocosaurus Cove. The jaws of an adult human can exert the equivalent of 20 kilos worth of pressure. That’s as if a big bag of potatoes fell on your foot. Not pleasant at all but I can survive that.
A lion exerts 300 kilos worth of pressure. That’s as if a motorcycle would fall on your foot. Not a happy thought. Interestingly, a hyena has 500 kilos worth of pressure in its jaws. It has more biting power than a lion! 500 kilos is the equivalent of a horse that falls on your foot.
Now a normal adult saltwater crocodile, at 4.4 meters, can exert 3500 kilos worth of pressure. 3500! A big saltwater crocodile, at 5.5 meters, has a smashing 4400 kilos worth of pressure in its mouth. This is as if a large diesel truck would fall on your foot. The jaws of saltwater crocodiles are thus the most powerful in the animal kingdom. They can easily crush the bones of any animal.
We had a display of bite force at Crocosaurus Cove. One of the staff members brought a foot-thick, solid block of ice which she put in a mechanical set of jaws for bite force demonstration. Once she hit the button, the jaws of the fake crocodile just smashed through the block of ice as if it was paper.
No wonder humans and animals alike have very little chance of escaping a crocodile whose jaws has shut on them.
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