How are sharks and crocodiles similar? What happens if you put a crocodile, a white shark and a giant anaconda in a huge pool? Muscle mass - for a shark

Relatively small species of sharks are common prey for crocodiles. Saltwater crocodiles, being the largest modern reptiles and having a tendency to stay in brackish water, and even go on long sea voyages, they were sometimes noticed in predation towards fairly large sand and bull sharks that live in coastal waters and can even swim into rivers.

Nile crocodiles also prey on bull and sand sharks in the Zambezi River and Lake St. Lucia. Lemon sharks avoid areas where sharp-snouted crocodiles live, reacting to chemical compounds released by them. And although all these sharks are usually much smaller than large crocodiles, there are references to crocodiles being able to kill sharks close to their own size. In one such case, young Nile crocodile killed a large bull shark, and in another, a 3-meter saltwater crocodile threw a 2.1-meter shark, approximately equal in weight to itself, above the water, and then tore it into pieces.

Encounters of larger species of sharks with crocodiles are relatively rare, as they prefer completely different habitats. However, tiger sharks, which sometimes hunt in coastal waters or even estuaries, can encounter crocodiles. Yellow Waters staff reported finding the remains of a 4.6m tiger shark in the estuary, killed and partially eaten by a saltwater crocodile. A saltwater crocodile has been observed eating a tiger shark on a Townsville beach.

It is believed that tiger sharks avoid the habitat of saltwater crocodiles, possibly due to similar feeding preferences. So, saltwater crocodiles off Cape York Peninsula in Australia, have an instructive saying among divers and boaters: "don't worry about the tiger sharks, the saltwater crocodiles have already eaten them." Although, on the other hand, in Dubai, South Africa, a 4.3 meter tiger shark was caught whose stomach contents included the remains of the head and forelimbs of an unidentified approximately 2.5 meter crocodile. However, this find is considered to be the result of eating carrion.

Norman Caldwell described the murder case as very big shark(weighing about 900 pounds) by a hungry crocodile; According to the author, after a stubborn struggle, the crocodile pulled the exhausted shark ashore and ate off the tail of its victim, leaving the rest to decompose in the fetid mud. In another case, a fight was observed between a shark and a crocodile off the coast of Madagascar, as a result of which the shark managed to fight back and bite off part of the crocodile’s tail, which was immediately lassoed and pulled out of the water by the sailors, thereby stopping the fight. There is a report of a saltwater crocodile killing a mako shark in the waters near Kakadu National Park. In the intertidal zones of northern Australia, especially near river mouths, some scars on the bodies of young saltwater crocodiles have been identified as possible marks from the teeth of sharks, suggesting frequent aggressive interactions between these animals.

In addition, there is fairly reliable information about the killing of an approximately 5.5 meter female white shark by a very large, approximately 6 meter saltwater crocodile in 1939. As a result of this encounter, the crocodile turned the shark on its back, tore out its skull and severed its neck using a lethal spin. Moreover, Australian fishermen at the beginning of the 20th century claimed that this had been observed more than once. Author and journalist Peter Hanhawk described a "huge lizard" that wandered into the ocean and killed white shark. There is a fairly high probability that the described "megalania" was actually a saltwater crocodile. On the other hand, a small 1.2-1.5 meter Australian freshwater crocodile was found in the stomach of a 4.9 m white shark caught in Queensland.

Comparative characteristics
Different types of sharks and crocodiles have different sizes. White sharks usually reach 3.9-4.8 m in length, weighing 680-1100 kg, tiger sharks usually have a length of 3.25-4.25 m, weighing 385-635 kg, bull sharks on average they have a length of 2.3 to 2.4 m with a weight of 90-130 kg. And at the same time, female sharks of these species are, as a rule, larger than males.

In crocodiles, as a rule, the opposite is true - males are much larger and stronger than females. Male saltwater crocodiles usually reach approximately 4.3-5.2 m in length and weigh between 400 and 1000 kg, while females range from 2.3 to 3 m and weigh no more than 40-100 kg. Male Nile crocodiles are typically 4 to 5 meters long and weigh 300-600 kg, while females are 2.2 to 3.8 m long and weigh 40 to 250 kg. The length of adult males of sharp-snouted crocodiles in continental rivers throughout most of their range ranges from 2.9 to 4 m, and females - from 2.5 to 3 m, while on the islands and coasts they are much smaller - for example, in the coastal zone of Belize, adult individuals weigh only 77.8 kg.

Armament
The saltwater crocodile has the potential to have the strongest bite in the animal kingdom. Estimated jaw force of a large male saltwater crocodile weighing 1308 kg - from 27531 to 34424 newtons, which is equivalent to a gravity force of 2809.3-3512.7 kg. The greatest practical result was obtained when measuring the jaw pressure of a 4.59 m 531 kg male saltwater crocodile - 16414 N, or approximately 1675 kg. Thus, this is the second strongest bite measured in any animal in the laboratory. The first place here is certainly occupied by the pressure of 2268 kg, issued by a more than 5-meter Nile crocodile when measured by Brady Barr. The length of the largest teeth in the mouth of a 4.8 m combed crocodile reaches 9 cm, total real crocodiles have 64-68 teeth, alligators have 74-80, gharials have up to a hundred. The teeth of crocodiles are not designed to cut meat, but given their monstrous bite force and physical strength, this is not a disadvantage - with its jaws a crocodile can easily cut through the skin, muscles and even bones of a large animal, like an ax.

As for the white shark, its jaw clenching force is relatively small. However, given the structure of the teeth and the mechanism of the bite, these sharks do not need to have a very powerful bite. In 2008, a simulation was carried out that allowed the power of shark jaws to be assessed. It was found that the bite force of a white shark 2.5 m long and weighing 240 kg could reach 3131 N, while for a shark 6.4 m long and weighing 3324 kg it would be 18216 N. The bull shark has relatively much more powerful jaws, than the white one - one individual bit the sensor with a force of about 6000 N. The teeth of the white shark reach 5 cm in length and have serrated edges, which make it possible to cut off pieces of soft fat and meat from the victim with some efficiency. Their total number is up to 300. Some other sharks have similar adaptations for feeding on relatively large animals. But it is highly unlikely that a shark's jaws can handle the tough skin of a crocodile.

Temperament
In general, crocodiles are significantly more aggressive animals than sharks, usually more prone to conflict of any kind.

The most aggressive crocodiles are considered to be saltwater crocodiles - the most asocial modern representatives of their order, known for brutal territorial battles. Among the large species of crocodiles high level Cuban crocodiles, which dominate larger sharp-snouted crocodiles in nature and in captivity, and Nile crocodiles are also distinguished by aggression. Contrary to popular misconception, size is not the most important factor. important role in crocodile conflicts, as opposed to experience and aggression.

Among sharks, bull sharks are considered the most aggressive. Mako sharks and some smaller shark species can also be aggressive. There is a known case in which a mako shark chased away a great white shark. Usually, social hierarchy in sharks it is built on the basis of the size of specific individuals and larger females, as a rule, dominate over males.

Shark vs crocodile - whose jaws are more dangerous?

Shark is a dangerous and predatory resident sea ​​waters, which brings awe to almost the entire human tribe, has a number of impressive rivals. killer whales and whales. She also suffers from her own relatives - stronger and larger specimens.

Even a cold-blooded crocodile can use its death grip against a shark, which has killed more than one large animal.

Surprisingly, fights between sharks and crocodiles are not that rare. Proof of this is the image of the battle between a crocodile and a shark on the coat of arms of the city of Surabaya. The battles that take place between them are always bloody and merciless. Each of the opponents has power and skill, so the outcome of the battles is unpredictable.

Let's try to analyze and compare a crocodile and a shark in a possible fight.

Predator encounter sites

For many people, it will be a discovery that some species of crocodiles are tolerant of salty sea water. This and crocodile caiman, and the Nile crocodile, and the African narrow-snouted and sharp-snouted crocodiles.

The natural habitat of many predatory sharks - seas and oceans - is not a hindrance for them. And, for example, a saltwater crocodile can even swim far into the open sea, where it is possible to meet a dangerous and cunning enemy in the form of a shark. There are frequent cases when and where crocodiles live.

Reasons for possible collisions between a crocodile and a shark

Large species of crocodiles feed mainly on fish, so the shark is primarily a hunting object for them. For crocodiles, small bottom-dwelling species of sharks are no different from other inhabitants of the seas that serve as food.

Large species of sharks are opponents and competitors in the struggle for food. Shark attacks, knowing them, are not something out of the ordinary.

Watch video - Crocodile vs shark:

Sizes and morphological features of opponents

If we consider a shark and a crocodile as equal opponents, then it is worth paying attention to large species these animals. Adults individual species crocodiles can reach 4-6 meters in length (salted crocodile), which is close to .

All crocodiles are characterized by a long, high tail, compressed from the sides, allowing them to swim well and maneuver in the water. The presence of webbed hind feet also characterizes crocodiles as swimmers. The scutes, located throughout the body, play the role of a kind of shell. And, formed by the ribs and some other bones, the rib cage fully protects the internal organs.

Teeth, like those of sharks, change throughout life, but they “hold” more firmly in the jaw. Sharks do.

In crocodiles, the muscles of the jaws are well developed, so their compression force is enormous and significantly exceeds that of sharks. And due to the fact that pressure-sensitive receptor cells are located between the teeth, the crocodile can control the force of compression.

Due to the fact that crocodiles have a bony skeleton, if they are the same size as a shark, they will have more weight.

Strength, dexterity and agility

A crocodile, which seems slow and sluggish on land, can develop significant speed in water. By moving its tail and body from side to side, the crocodile moves like a fish.

It is thanks to the developed muscles of the tail and body that in some cases, especially in moments of danger or during a hunt, a crocodile can jump vertically out of the water. The tail is not only a means of transportation, but also dangerous weapon, with which the animal can defend itself from rivals and even drown out fish.

Hunting tricks for crocodiles and sharks

A shark, as we already know, can describe circles around its intended victim. And frequent shark attacks, accompanied by bites, can lead to significant blood loss in the opponent. With shark fever, predators lose control and become uncontrollable. It is difficult to predict the shark's further actions in this case.

Crocodiles can grab their prey with their jaws and drag it under water. small fish They can be thrown out of the water, or they can be grabbed by a sharp turn of the head to the side, which significantly reduces the resistance of the water in relation to the head.

The crocodile copes with large enemies or victims somewhat differently - having firmly grabbed the victim with its jaws, the crocodile makes a sharp turn of 360 degrees, thus tearing out a piece of flesh or breaking the enemy’s neck. Also, a crocodile can keep its teeth locked for a long time until the victim weakens.

Video - Fight between a crocodile and a shark over a turtle carcass:

The results of the fight between a crocodile and a shark

For the filming of the documentary “Animal Battles,” scientists created robotic models that had the skills, strength and reactions of some animals. Based on this, scientists could predict the outcome of the battle between a white shark and a saltwater crocodile.

Watch video - Battle of a crocodile and a shark:

The shark won this battle, but many biologists consider this simply a lucky coincidence. The power and strength of a crocodile's jaws exceeds those of sharks, which can easily lead to serious injury and death of the shark.

Tourists in Kakadu National Park (Australia) became unwitting witnesses to a battle between a crocodile and. As a result of a long and stubborn struggle, the crocodile, having ripped open the shark’s belly, emerged victorious. Such fights, according to local residents, are not uncommon.

Shark and crocodile, swiftness and agility – who will emerge victorious in the next battle?

For a crocodile in this case, the temperature of the pool can be a deadly problem. For most species it should be between 20-38 °C. He will ignore the white shark as a likely victim, since he chooses the animal that he can deal with one way or another. And he lives in fresh water(although there are species that can tolerate salty food).

The white shark, on the other hand, lives in salty ocean and coastal waters. And the temperature of its range is much lower - 12-24 °C. In general, the tolerable temperature spectrum is wider, from cold seas to the tropics, but we are still talking about the usual.

Bloody encounters between sharks and crocodiles are not that uncommon. Proof of this is the image of the battle between a crocodile and a shark on the coat of arms of the city of Surabaya. The main antagonists are the saltwater crocodile, which can swim far into the sea, and a shark of comparable size, due to its aggressiveness.

But a crocodile has more powerful jaws, grip strength, and teeth have roots. With equal sizes, moreover, the crocodile will have more weight due to the presence of a skeleton.

With anaconda it is more difficult. A lot depends on chance here. The crocodile will be lucky to grab it with its jaws - perhaps, with its favorite twisting, it will have time to tear out a piece of flesh sufficient to at least weaken and prevent the snake’s body from wrapping around it. And if the anaconda manages to “ensnare” the reptile, then that’s it, it breaks the bones and pushes it inside, there are enough such videos.

I'm afraid that in the end, one of the remaining three will jump onto the edge of the pool and get dessert in the form of the pool worker who drove the three of them into this death trap. And then they’ll film another one... the twentieth hollywood movie horror.

Everyone will calmly wait to see if food that is more familiar to everyone will appear. A crocodile is something that is smaller in size, an anaconda is something that can swallow (again, something that smaller in size). The white shark will wait for blood markers (blood) to appear in the water. Most likely, both the anaconda and the crocodile will not challenge the white shark’s right to prey if it is interested in it. I think every predator will wait until they faint with hunger for their food, and not fight like spiders in a jar.

"A crocodile is something that is smaller in size."

In fact, crocodiles calmly attack animals that are not just larger, but significantly larger than themselves.

He (Kermit) also shot a 12-foot (3.6 m) crocodile. The ugly, menacing beast retained in its stomach sticks, stones, cheetah claws, impala hooves, large eland bones and fragments of the shell of one of the largest river turtles; Apparently, he accepted the fee from among his fellow inhabitants of the river, or from among the creatures that came to quench his thirst. He didn't care whether the animals were grazing in the pasture or getting fresh flesh, he simply hunted them. (Roosevelt, writing from Guaso Nyiro, pp. 286-287.)

The popular belief that crocodiles do not hunt waterbucks was clearly refuted by our observations in National Park Kruger, and, as can be seen in table No. 6, waterbucks are one of the most common types of warm-blooded prey in the diet of crocodiles. An important part of the crocodiles' diet is impala, as well as kudu and bushbuck. We happened to observe how an adult male giraffe, intending to cross the Olifants River, suddenly tripped, fell and was pulled into the water large crocodile. An adult male buffalo was grabbed at a watering hole in Nyavutsi by a fourteen-foot crocodile and drowned after a horrific struggle. Over the years, there have only been two recorded cases of crocodiles predating baby hippos, however, there have been several recorded cases of hyenas, hyena dogs and even lions being killed by crocodiles.
Table 6. List of observations of animals killed by crocodiles in the Kruger National Park during the periods 1936-1946 and 1954-1966.
1936-1946: 80 impala, 1 zebra, 21 waterbuck, 7 kudu, 2 buffalo, 1 warthog, 2 marshbuck, 2 duiker, 1 nyala, 1 stenbok, 3 bushbuck, 2 bush pigs, 1 baboon, 1 hyena dog. Total: 125.
1954-1966: 163 impalas, 7 zebras, 4 wildebeest, 41 waterbuck, 22 kudu, 2 buffalo, 2 giraffes, 3 warthogs, 3 marshbuck, 3 nyalas, 1 stenbok, 21 bushbuck, 1 leapbuck, 2 hippopotamuses ( cubs), 2 hyenas, 1 lion, 1 baboon, 1 vervet monkey, 1 porcupine. Total: 280.

“One day I saw a crocodile attack and actually overcome the resistance of a bull buffalo. I watched the reptile lying on the sandy shore with a huge open mouth, his feathered friends are probably the only ones he has. However, the crocodile refused to brush his teeth when a herd of buffalo came down to drink. Instantly and silently the crocodile slid into the water, and I wondered with surprise whether he would attack such a large herd. Six cows were drinking near the edge, and a bull went deeper and had his head in the water before I saw another sign of the reptile's presence. Then a whirlpool of water rushed by with lightning speed, and the bull threw up his head with the crocodile capturing his muzzle. His position on the low bank no doubt helped the croc, and inch by inch he dragged the bull closer to the water. Suddenly, with great effort, the buffalo broke free, but before he could get any distance, the "krok" grabbed his paw. His head sank down, and his horns lifted “half” of the crocodile out of the water and laid it on the sand. But the efforts cost the buffalo its position. He knelt down, and at the moment the crocodile grabbed his nose again. Then I shot at the reptile, the crocodile loosened its grip and soon disappeared under water. I hoped I could get it. But later I was never able to get the carcass. Before the bull could rise, I shot him too to examine his wounds. Looking at the nose, I found that the crocodile's huge mouth had crushed the bones into mush, the flesh, like the paw, was torn and hanging away. It seemed incredible that such deadly strength and ferocity of a crocodile could have evolved from a creature that, perhaps a hundred and fifty years ago, had emerged from an egg; and which began its life as a lizard about six inches long!”

Giraffe killed by crocodiles:

A wild African buffalo struggled to take its last breath before it was dragged underwater by a Nile crocodile in Kazinga Channe, Uganda, Africa. Predator-prey relationships. African buffalo(Syncerus caffer) is one of the representatives of the African "Big Five". They are often seen in large herds and cooperative defense of relatives (strength in numbers).

This is the first evidence that came to mind. And so, there are plenty of such cases. And this is precisely with successful attacks, but there are also unsuccessful ones. Crocodiles are highly specialized hunters of big catch.

Answer

Comment

First of all, it depends on which crocodile you take. A saltwater or Nile crocodile will bite both a white shark and an anaconda. Especially the last one. After all, in fact, no 10-meter snakes exist and never existed, with the exception of a number of species that are extinct today. The largest green anacondas reach somewhere between 5.5-6 meters in length and weigh up to approximately 100 kg, while the largest modern saltwater crocodiles can weigh up to approximately 1750 kg with a length of up to 7 meters, and white sharks can weigh more than 2.3 tons with a length of not less than 6.1 meters.
And the so-called “videos of anacondas defeating crocodiles” that were mentioned here actually demonstrate snakes eating “harmless” crocodiles or yakar caimans. And they are usually smaller in size than anacondas themselves. But the point here is not even a matter of “more or less,” but the fact that a caiman is far from a crocodile of the same size. In fact, young crocodiles easily eat caimans of similar size when kept together in captivity. Whether an anaconda will be able to cope with a crocodile of the same size, or whether it will be bitten in half by it, is another question. Be that as it may, even if a 100 kg anaconda can compete “on equal terms” with an approximately 3-meter 100 kg crocodile, then it simply has no chance against a larger one. Against a shark, I think it will have a better chance, since the shark’s body is devoid of bones and can easily be flattened by the compression of the anaconda’s rings. But not against a 2-ton shark.)

As for the white shark, although it is larger than a saltwater crocodile, sharks themselves are downright bad fighters. They live by opportunistically eating carrion, fish, cephalopods, and only sometimes young or weakened by old age/illness marine mammals. One should not fall for the common and obviously erroneous discussion that “white sharks specialize in feeding on seals.” This is a myth from documentaries, which have nothing else to show except the seasonal feeding of sharks on pups sea ​​lions. Sharks have an extremely primitive physiology: in particular, the kidneys are practically disabled and waste products accumulate in the blood until they themselves flow through the rectal glands and gills. And this is strong (and by no means in better side) affects endurance, strength of muscle contractions, coordination of movements and nervous system in general, which are already not very well developed in sharks. The cartilaginous skeleton, even with proper calcification, cannot attach such powerful muscles to itself as even thin bones bony fish, not to mention the powerful skeletons of such advanced higher vertebrates as crocodiles. The same goes for the jaws: the cartilaginous jaws of sharks are also very unstable to stress and are easily deformed. The jaws of young white sharks do not allow them to handle even seal pups without risk, without literally risking their heads. U large sharks in the process of ontogenesis, this deficiency is partly compensated by an increase in the calcium content in the cartilage of the jaws. But, I emphasize - only partly. Being ordinary modified scales, shark teeth do not have roots and easily fall out of the gums even from slight stress. And them a large number of may not always compensate for this. I say right away that sharks don't bite through shells sea ​​turtles - this is also a myth, based on the study of the contents of the stomachs of sharks and the finds of the carcasses of unfortunate turtles with marks from shark teeth. But once a turtle’s shell, softened by water, becomes very fragile, especially if it is some kind of leatherback or Australian turtle green turtle. And pieces of sea turtle shells in the stomachs of sharks, in addition to eating carrion crushed in the water, can also end up as a result of swallowing turtles whole: thus, by the way, turtles are eaten by snakes and monitor lizards that do not have sufficient bite force to open the shells. No one has ever seen such a situation where a shark would swim up and gnaw the shell of a fresh turtle, and I guarantee you that. But there are more than enough videos where large tiger sharks bite off turtles’ tails, heads and flippers, but cannot do anything about the shell. And although protective function in osteoderms of large crocodiles, it is frankly secondary; it will be very difficult for a shark to bite through the thick skin of a crocodile. Even the belly of a crocodile, whose vulnerability is fictional and imposed by a mockumentary program" animal battles", in fact, is strengthened not only by quite decent skin (comparable in strength to buffalo and used for luxury leather goods), but also by a large layer of muscles with abdominal ribs. Finally, sharks are frankly cowardly: the white shark is the only large predator, which people regularly fight off with their bare hands. Moreover, there are cases where people survived attacks by even 5.5-6 meter sharks. Again, since white sharks are not experts at eating fatty seals, don’t think that they don’t like people. A shark will eat any meat available to it; it is an opportunistic predator: they have found in the stomachs of white sharks bivalves, herring, small squid, sea turtles, rats, remains of unidentified terrestrial animals, in one case they even found a 1.2-1.5 meter Australian narrow-snouted crocodile. These animals are by no means less “appetizing” than people, but white sharks eat them with pleasure. After all, the same polar bear is a much greater specialist in fatty foods. But this does not prevent him from considering people as food... And even if you do not focus on the low fatality of shark attacks on people, then the same seals, as a rule, also survive shark bites. It is easier to find photographs of seals injured by sharks healing their injuries on the beach than to find cases of successful predation by white sharks on adult pinnipeds. White sharks are not hunters of large prey, and they do not suppress the resistance of even relatively small prey.
Therefore, I do not think that a saltwater crocodile will have any problems killing a primitive and frankly timid white shark. After all, many successful attacks by crocodiles on a variety of sharks have been recorded. Saltwater crocodiles are extremely aggressive - males, defending food or territory, often rush even at helicopters (seemingly very “scary” because of the noise and size of unfamiliar objects) of rangers. But what is most important is that, unlike sharks, crocodiles regularly fight with each other and are able to suppress the resistance of even a large and well-armed victim (after all, successful attacks by crocodiles are known even on big cats). They calmly cope with large animals and some individuals in the tea swamps of Australia even specialize in preying on adult Asian water buffalo. The white shark and the saltwater crocodile are, let’s say, animals from two completely different “leagues,” despite the shark’s superior weight.

So I propose to complicate the question: what happens if you put a plesiosuchus, a plesiotilosaur, a liopleurodon, a large saltwater crocodile and a seasoned male walrus in the same pool?

Of course, in this case he will not be a priority fighter. But of the marine mammals of this size, only the walrus can do something:

"One can hardly speak of any serious food competition between walrus ami and polar bears, even if we take into account the fact that walrus and from time to time they also feed on carrion - for example, the corpses of whales. During the hungry months of the polar winter, whale carcasses are the main food for all inhabitants of the Arctic, from seagulls and ravens to arctic foxes, wolves and bears. Robert Brown notes that stomachs walrus those killed near skinned whale carcasses are invariably stuffed with whale meat. Walrus and sometimes they even kill small ringed seals - as we already know, the main prey polar bear. It is quite possible that they do not hesitate to sea ​​hares. Pedersen says seals are afraid walrus they avoid their hiding places. Freuchen says that the herds walrus It usually drives seals out of the bays where they spend the summer months.
We have no reason not to believe the stories about how Eskimos catch fish north of Baffin Island. walrus to her on the edge of the ice floes; they put a piece of seal blubber into the water in the hope that walrus, attracted by the bait, will grab it and try to drag it under water; but because walrus cannot eat a piece under water, he must pull it out onto the ice, and that’s when it becomes the hunter’s prey. They say that upon noticing black spots - seals lying on the ice, walrus and break through the ice from below to get to them. According to Pedersen, the walrus deliberately chiseled the ice floe, trying to split it under the man’s feet. The Hudson Strait Eskimos say that in the fall, when they are tracking walruses at the holes, the walruses, noticing the place where the hunter is standing, dive and then begin to break the ice under him.
Frederick Jackson, who lived for about four years in the southeast of Franz Josef Land at the end of the last century, and one of Haig-Thomas’s companions were attacked by a walrus right on the ice floe: the walrus leaned out of the water and tried to strike with its tusks. K. Kolleway, a member of the German expedition that landed on the northwestern coast of Greenland in 1869, wrote: “We were making our way with difficulty along the path among the treacherous ice fields and suddenly we saw a walrus: it broke through the ice from below very close to us and frightened us with its unexpected appearance. We ran as fast as we could, but the walrus did not leave us - with great speed he swam after us under the water, breaking the ice under our feet. We set off in all directions, jumping over a thin crust of ice, which the alpenstock kept breaking through. Loud rustling. and the flapping of the monster’s flippers accompanied us all the way, until finally we got out onto the old ice, where our pursuer left us alone.”
If suddenly a group of people from the ship scare away a seal and a walrus lying on an ice floe not far from the hole, then the walrus, which moves faster than the seal on land, will be the first to reach the saving hole. But instead of peacefully walking around the seal, the walrus deliberately hits him on the back with his tusks; this unexpected manifestation of aggressiveness is certainly a consequence of fear. Walruses usually hunt seals in the water. Pedersen twice saw a walrus chase and then kill a young woman. ringed seal. And the Eskimos from the shores of Cumberland Bay told Gantzsch that they had more than once observed walruses catching seals in the water, grabbing them with flippers and then stabbing them with their tusks. The Eskimos of Pond Inlet say the same thing.
In the pools of the New York Aquarium, they constantly measure the speed at which walruses of different types swim. age groups. The maximum throwing speed does not exceed 7-9 kilometers per hour, and the normal cruising speed is only a little over three kilometers. In the wild, walruses make 10-13 kilometers per hour, and the slowest of the seals makes at least 15-20 kilometers. Therefore, it is not surprising that walruses hunt only young seals. However, admitting that walruses swim much faster in the sea than in the pool (and we know that they catch up even with fast-moving beluga whales), we still cannot help but admit that seals in the water are much more mobile than walruses. Therefore, when hunting seals, the walrus, like a bear, swims on its back and dives under the seal at the moment when the seal pokes its head out of the water to breathe. Having grabbed it with flippers, the walrus strikes with its tusks, cutting open the seal’s chest. Then, holding his prey with his flippers in the same way as a female walrus holds a puppy, the male walrus swims with her to the nearest ice floe, throws the carcass onto the ice and climbs out himself. There he rips open the seal with his tusks and greedily swallows large pieces of skin and fat. It is quite possible that he uses his vibrissae for this operation. Observations show that in captivity, a walrus, tearing pieces of meat from a seal carcass, helps itself with whiskers. Walruses especially love to feast on soft seal fat: the small distance between the tusks sitting on both sides of its mouth does not allow it to swallow large pieces of meat. Therefore it is not surprising that most of The seal carcass turns out to be untouched. However, one day Pedersen discovered a whole flipper in the stomach of a walrus.
In those months when there are especially many polar cod, walruses sometimes catch these fish, crashing into schools and eating them in large quantities.
Walrus predators are still an anomalous and quite rare phenomenon. Fey believes that in the Bering and Chukchi Seas there is barely one male predator per thousand walruses. But they still exist and are much more common than is commonly thought. Young narwhals, as well as whale skin and fat, have been found in the stomachs of walruses more than once. There is even the only evidence of how two walruses attacked a whale from both sides, which defended itself with its tail. Apparently, whales avoid going into waters where there are walruses. Famous polar explorer early XIX century, William Scoresby Jr. observed many times in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas how walruses devoured narwhals. The Simpson Sound Eskimos told William Schwatka that walruses often attacked porpoises. The Englishman Robert Gray, the skipper of a whaling ship that entered the waters of the Norwegian Sea in 1890, wrote: “Standing on the bridge, I noticed some object in the dark water, over which birds were circling. Having lowered the boat into the water, we saw that it was a narwhal ", completely covered with wounds; his belly was almost eaten away. The culprit of the crime was a huge walrus, calmly sleeping nearby on a piece of ice."
Twelve years before this message, Gray's father, whose ship was in the Greenland Sea 275 miles off the coast of Spitsbergen, writes in the ship's log: “Moving north through ice fields and drifting ice, this morning I saw some object ahead that at first thought it was the shaft of a hand harpoon. The water around it was oily, and several birds were sitting nearby. At first I thought it was a dead whale, but then I saw that it was the tusk of a narwhal. As we got closer, I noticed something in the water near it brown and wondered for some time what it could be, but I soon realized that it was a walrus, tightly clinging to a narwhal.
When we got very close, I sent two boats and ordered a hand harpoon to be thrown at the narwhal and a harpoon cannon to be fired at the walrus. The blow of the first harpooner landed right at the walrus's nose. The walrus became furious and released the narwhal, which immediately began to drown. The walrus clearly did not want to part with the prey, and, diving, he pulled the narwhal to the surface. Wrapping his flippers around it, he sank his teeth into it again.
At this time, the second boat approached, the harpooner fired a cannon right at the walrus’s neck, and he finally released the narwhal. The walrus dragged the boat quite far in the wind until a shot from a gun in the back of the head finished him off.
Upon examining the carcass, we found that the narwhal's entrails were missing, and most of the belly had been eaten or torn apart by the walrus, who selectively selected the pieces, apparently having spent a lot of time on the meal. He ate the fat from the skin as cleanly as if it had been scraped off with a knife. The narwhal was recently killed in mortal combat the walrus wounded him with its tusks from nose to tail. The walrus itself was intact. There was a layer of fat three inches thick on it, and its stomach was filled with seal skin and pieces of narwhal meat that it had just eaten. According to our rough estimates, there were at least fifteen gallons of blubber in his stomach.
The narwhal was about fourteen feet long, not including the tusk, and nine feet in girth. The length of the tusk was five feet.
The walrus was eleven feet long and had a girth of nine feet ten inches.
How, one wonders, did the walrus manage to hold such a powerful beast as the narwhal? A narwhal in its native element feels much freer than a walrus, and can leave with a harpoon embedded in it, unwinding a hundred-length whale line.
This is the only explanation I can think of: the walrus caught the narwhal while sleeping, dived under it and, plunging its tusks into its belly, grabbed it with its flippers. This is the position we found them in, with the only difference being that the walrus was now on top."

Who is stronger: a shark or a crocodile?

Here victory depends, as it were, on the shark itself. And victory depends on the crocodile himself.

If you turn the shark over, it will fall asleep. This scientific fact. The truth is little known to anyone except killer whales.

Everything that IGOR PROKHOROV 5.3K described is true, I have nothing to add to his words.

And you do a search on the topic Shark vs. crocodile. For example, good information on this topic http://www.akulizm.ru/akula-protiv/krokodil-protiv-akuly.html

The shark has a very weakness, which few people know about: being turned over on her back, she very quickly falls into a stupor, as if falling asleep. Killer whales often take advantage of this. Swimming along the bottom and seeing the silhouette of a shark above, they grab it from below and immediately flip it onto its back. And after a few minutes the shark falls asleep, after which the killer whale devours it. A person can handle it in the same way (I saw a video of a man grabbing a medium-sized shark in a swimming pool, turning it over on its back and it quickly fell asleep).

If a crocodile grabs onto a shark and can turn it belly up, it can celebrate victory. A few years ago I found on the Internet interesting story one local resident from the banks of the Amazon. He witnessed a battle between two sharks and two (or three?) crocodiles. Sharks swam into the Amazon from the sea, probably looking for new places of prey and food. And local crocodiles came out to meet them. After a short fight, the sharks retreated.

Who are you more afraid of? Personally, I am a shark.

Doesn't have a more powerful body. The crocodile has a definite advantage in armor on its back. But even skilled people catch crocodiles with their bare hands. How about trying to catch a large, predatory shark with your hands?

I don’t know how I think they can’t be compared at all, each is strong in his own way and each has his own habits, strength, abilities, etc. this is the same as comparing an elephant and a giraffe, one has weight and one has length! As for me, both animals are strong!

Every family has very strong individuals. There are such individuals in both the crocodile family and the shark family. And besides, both predators are very strong. Therefore, in my opinion, it is more correct to divide the victory fifty to fifty.

Both are very strong, but it seems to me that if a crocodile grabs it, it will break all the bones, because when it grabs it, it suddenly lights up its prey in the water, and goes to the bottom, although sharks are much larger, which may not have the strength to do this, and The crocodile has very strong scales, which are very difficult to pierce or bite through if you just get to the stomach, although sharks themselves are very strong and agile, but it seems to me that the crocodile is stronger, I’m not an ace, I just think so)))

Here, after all, the answer lies in who bites whom first. If the crocodile grabs onto it and begins to spin around its axis, the shark simply will not survive this damage. And if the shark, in turn, bites off the crocodile’s head, then the headless crocodile will also have trouble in the future.

If you think like that, then it seems to me that the shark will be stronger, and it large sizes than a crocodile, and it has a larger mouth :) And perhaps a crocodile, since a shark is good only in water, and a crocodile is good both in water and on land.