If you’re interested in finding out whether crocodiles will eat other crocodiles then you’ve come to the right article as I’ll be answering this question for you right here.
Also, after I’ve given you the answer to the main question then I’ll also give answers to a few more closely related questions to extend your knowledge even more.
Do crocodiles eat other crocodiles and why?
Crocodiles will prey on their species in some circumstances, for example, when there are no other food sources around.
Crocodiles will even eat baby crocodiles in certain circumstances.
For example, in the absence of prey, an adult crocodile may prey on a baby crocodile to quell their hunger.
Another reason for crocodiles to prey on baby crocodiles is based on rivalry.
Some adult male crocodiles, for example, will see their baby counterparts as potential future mating rivals.
So, they will not only kill but also eat these little reptiles because they don’t want them to grow and start competing with them over female crocodiles in the future.
It’s also important to remember that crocodiles are cannibalistic animals.
It can, however, also happen that crocodiles will accidentally eat the meat of another crocodile (check the video below to see a crocodile accidentally eat another crocodile’s foot).
Why do crocodiles not eat other crocodiles?
While crocodiles are known to eat other crocodiles, certain crocodiles will not prey on other crocodiles due to several reasons.
The first reason is safety.
For example, adult crocodiles will only hunt for small crocodiles because they know that these are weaker prey compared to their adult counterparts.
Also, small crocodiles won’t be able to put up a good fight which makes it even easier for adult crocodiles to overpower them.
Furthermore, old, sick, or wounded adult crocodiles that are physically weak will likely not attempt to prey on smaller crocodiles that are seemingly stronger than them.
That’s because they know that doing so would put them in great danger.
Another reason is based on how much food is around.
If there’s plenty of prey around such as fish, frogs, birds, lizards, and other kinds of prey that they usually eat, crocodiles will not attack each other for food.
The third reason is maternal instinct.
Female crocodiles will neither attack their baby crocodiles nor those that belong to their counterparts simply because they have a sense of motherly love.
It’s only on extremely rare occasions that a mother crocodile will prey on a baby crocodile from another mother.
Also, two adult crocodiles normally don’t try to feast on one another as a fight can result in severe injury even for the winner of the fight.
Do crocodiles eat baby crocodiles?
Some crocodiles will eat baby crocodiles because they are easy prey for them.
For example, adult male crocodiles are known for doing this.
You won’t, however, see many female crocodiles eating their babies as they’re the ones that will care for their babies from the day that they’re born till the day that they will leave their mom and take care of themselves.
Do male crocodiles eat their babies?
Male crocodiles will eat their babies from time to time and there are many reasons why this happens.
First, male crocodiles lack a bond between them and their offspring as they aren’t involved in their care and upbringing.
Secondly, male crocodiles will mate with many female crocodiles, resulting in them siring many babies, some of which they can’t recognize.
As such, you’ll find that many male crocodiles that eat their babies do it without actually knowing that they are eating their offspring.
Do female crocodiles eat their babies?
It’s almost impossible for a female crocodile to eat their babies, because of maternal love and affection.
Also, it is the mother crocodile’s job to take care of her babies.
If she would, for example, decide to not care for her babies then it is likely that pretty much none of her babies would survive as they’re very vulnerable to predators during their younger years.
Why do crocodiles eat their babies?
Male crocodiles eat their babies mainly because they don’t know it.
As said earlier, a male crocodile will mate with more than one female crocodile during his lifetime.
As such, he will sire many children, most of which he’ll not recognize as he won’t be involved in their care and upbringing.
Also, you shouldn’t forget that male crocodiles are naturally cannibalistic.
Do crocodiles eat dead crocodiles?
Crocodiles aren’t choosy cannibals, unlike other animals.
As such, they won’t have a problem devouring the flesh of their dead counterparts.
Crocodiles will especially eat dead crocodiles when there is a lack of food around.
Do saltwater crocodiles eat other crocodiles?
Saltwater crocodiles are just like freshwater crocodiles.
The only difference between saltwater crocodiles and the latter is that saltwater crocodiles can survive in both salty and non-salty water environments whereas freshwater crocodiles can only live in water environments that do not contain salt.
Both types of crocodiles are cannibalistic and so you can be sure that saltwater crocodiles will similarly eat other crocodiles.
Do freshwater crocodiles eat other crocodiles?
Freshwater crocodiles are just like saltwater crocodiles.
The only difference between freshwater crocodiles and the latter is that freshwater crocodiles can survive only in freshwater environments whereas saltwater crocodiles can live in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
Both types of crocodiles are cannibalistic and so you can be sure that freshwater crocodiles will likewise eat other crocodiles.
Do saltwater crocodiles eat freshwater crocodiles?
It’s common for saltwater crocodiles to prey on freshwater crocodiles.
On the contrary, freshwater crocodiles will not eat their saltwater counterparts due to a few reasons.
Firstly, freshwater crocodiles tend to be smaller than saltwater crocodiles.
This means that freshwater crocodiles can easily be overpowered by saltwater crocodiles.
Secondly, freshwater crocodiles have lower functioning salt glands than saltwater crocodiles.
This prevents them from excreting higher amounts of salt from water, unlike saltwater crocodiles.
Therefore, freshwater crocodiles are less tolerant to salty foods, hence the meat from saltwater crocs.
Do crocodiles eat alligators?
Crocodiles, especially the male ones, will devour alligators, which they consider easy prey.
After all, crocodiles are, generally, larger than alligators.
Also, they are, in general, stronger than alligators.
Can crocodiles eat other crocodiles?
Crocodiles, including female crocodiles, can for sure eat other crocodiles.
But it’s the larger crocodiles that tend to show more cannibalistic tendencies against smaller crocodiles as they have an advantage over the latter due to their larger size.
It is, however, not that common that they’ll cannibalize on one another if the food supply remains stable for them.
Are crocodiles cannibals?
Crocodiles are some of the most cannibalistic animals known to human beings.
A crocodile will kill and eat another crocodile, not only, to quell their hunger but also to put an end to a territorial rivalry and competition over mating partners.
They, however, do not prefer it over catching a way less dangerous prey as the crocodile can still get heavily hurt even if he/she manages to win the fight.
Conclusion
In this article, you’ve learned that crocodiles will indeed eat other crocodiles whenever the situation is right for them to do so.
They’ll, for example, eat other crocodiles whenever there are no other good food sources around.
But it can also be that they’ll eat other crocodiles to get rid of their competition as their competition will likely take away a big part of the crocodile’s food supply and the competition will also take away the crocodile’s mating partners.