Though crocodiles are famous for being
able to take down large prey such as
wildebeest, the elephant is much too
big for them.
In a terrestrial fight,
the crocodile is obviously no match.
In the crocodile’s favored environment,
it is still not strong enough to
defeat the elephant.
Normally an encounter would
result in both parties walking or
swimming away.
The leopard, Panthera
pardus, is one of five extant species
in the Panthera genus, which belongs
to the Felidae family.
The leopard has short legs,long
body and a wide skull as compared to
other wild cats.
Rosettes adorn the animal's fur.
It resembles the jaguar
in appearance, but it is smaller and
lighter, and its rosettes are
smaller, more closely packed, and
lack central spots.
Its well-camouflaged fur, opportunistic
hunting behavior, diverse diet,
strength, and ability to adapt to
a variety of environments ranging
from rainforest to steppe, including
arid and montane areas, distinguish
the leopard.
It can travel at a top
speed of 58 kilometers per hour.
The physical characteristics of a
crocodile allow it to be a good
predator.
Its external morphology
reflects its predatory and
aquatic lifestyle.
It can swim quickly due to its
streamlined body.
It also tucks its feet
to the side while swimming, making it
faster by decreasing water resistance.
Crocodiles have webbed feet which,
though not used to propel them through
the water, allow them to make fast
turns and sudden moves in the water
or initiate swimming.
Webbed feet are an
advantage in shallow water, where the
animals sometimes move around by
walking.
Crocodiles have a palatal flap,
a rigid tissue at the back of the
mouth that blocks the entry of water.
The palate has a special path from
the nostril to the glottis that
bypasses the mouth.
The nostrils are closed during
submergence.
A leopard can kill a
crocodile.
Sometimes.
If he gets lucky.
Leopards have a very powerful bite, and
if they get lucky then yes, easy kill,
since their bite pushes their teeth
straight into the crocodiles brain,
and it's all over.
Wildebeest are herd animals.
Herd animals band
together for “safety in numbers”.
It is harder for a
predator to pick a single target out of
a jumbled mass of bodies.
But if one does get caught
(often the very young or old, or a
sick animal), the herd functions best
by fleeing together.
That means not stopping to try to
rescue their companion,they are
just not equipped to do that.
Once and awhile we might see
a mother fight to defend her
offspring.
But for the most part they
have evolved to survive by fleeing
as a group, and leaving the weakest
members to satiate the predators helps
the rest of them to survive better.
Crocodiles are the biggest predators of
wildebeest.
More wildebeest are
killed by crocodiles than any other
predator.
This is because a stampede
is more deadly and likely to occur in
crocodile-infested waters than on land.
Poachers and hunters kill the
wildebeest for their meat and for
trophies.
In the water, the crocodile
wins almost all the fights with Lion
because the crocodile is built
for swimming over a long period of time
and can hold its breath underwater so
it can go underwater, swim
under the lion, and bite at the lion’s
underside, possibly ripping its stomach
open.
Near the riverbank, the
crocodile wins 80% of the time because
if it gets the lion in its jaws, it can
drag it into the water and either
drown it or give it the infamous death
roll where it rips chunks off its prey,
causing it to bleed to death.
Or if the lion somehow starts
to get the upper hand, it can retreat
into the water and either flee or wait
until the lion’s guard is lowered and
charge back out and deliver the killing
bite.