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Extraordinary moment a crocodile gallops across an outback road
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/extraordinary-moment-a-crocodile-gallops-across-an-outback-road/ar-BB1fxU28?ocid=msedgdhpThe extraordinary moment a freshwater crocodile is seen galloping across a remote outback road has been captured on camera.
(Fresh water crocs grow to about 3m , and are generally considered "harmless" to people , they hunt frogs, monitors, dragons, pythons, skinks, geckos, birds, and fish.
Unfortunately there are often esterine crocs in the same waters as they inhabit.
Freshwater croc are found in the Kimberley region (FarNW WA) , NT and FarN QLD).).
Naturalist guide Karla stumbled across the freshwater crocodile while it was walking across a paddock to the Bullo River in the Northern Territory last week.
She explained to her followers on Instagram that when crocodiles are startled on land they will leap into a fast gallop and sprint to the water.
The 1.5 metre crocodile was captured slowly crossing the road then flattening itself onto the ground as Karla edged closer.
In the video the wary croc suddenly turns and sprints in the opposite direction, raising its legs and tail high above the grass.
'Crocs are far more agile on land than people realise,' Karla wrote on Instagram.
She explained the reptile was using a 'high walk' gait to move overland, where the body is held high so their belly and tail are off the ground.
Karla said track marks indicate that crocodiles can walk considerable distances, particularly at the start of the dry season, May to October.
Freshwater crocodiles will use the galloping gait to move between pools of water, reaching speeds of up to 18 kilometres per hour.
Viewers of the extraordinary clip shared their surprise at the croc's remarkable speed and unusual gait.
'Definitely not how I was expecting it to take off away,' one user wrote.
'Wow that is so cool and scary at the same time,' another commented.
One user said they were surprised the reptile didn't try to attack Karla.
She replied to their comment explaining freshwater crocodiles were not a threat to humans on land.
'The only way people get bitten by freshies is if you try to catch them and don't know what you are doing,' she said.
'A salty in the water is a different story, a croc out of the water is out of their element.'
FACTS ABOUT FRESHWATER CROCODILES
The specie is unique to Australia, found only in the tropics in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia
Their preferred habitat is upstream freshwater billabongs, swamps and rivers, but will travel to tidal waters if not threatened by Estuarine crocodiles
The crocodile is smaller than saltwater crocodiles and have narrower snouts and sharp teeth used to hunt insects and fish
They use a galloping gait to move between pools of water, reaching speeds of 18 km/per hour, but this is tiring for the crocodiles who are soon exhausted
Like the Estuarine crocodile, the freshwater species is an ambush hunter, lying motionless at the waters edge for small creatures to venture close
Freshwater crocodiles can live for 40-60 years and possibly even 100
<< Some reptile keeper enthusiasts keep fresh water crocs as pets ( takes a very hard to get keeper's permit in NT , WA and QLD ) and they keep their "pets'' in large outdoor pit style enclosures >>.
