How fast can Australian saltwater crocodiles swim?
The swimming speed of saltwater crocodiles in Australia is up to 29km/h. However, they can only sustain this speed over a very short burst.
The big saltwater crocodiles of northern Australia are rightly feared. Get in the water with one of them, and there’s a strong chance that you’re never coming out again. Crocodiles in Australia kill an average of one or two people per year.
But if you do end up in crocodile-infested waters, just how fast can crocodiles swim?
Swimming speed of saltwater crocodiles in Australia
According to the Northern Territory Government, saltwater crocodiles can swim at 24 to 29km/h. That’s around three times as fast as the very fastest human swimmers. Essentially, if you’re in the water with one of Australia’s big crocs, you are very unlikely to be able to swim to safety. Which is why you shouldn’t get in the water with them in the first place.
However, saltwater crocodiles can only sustain that swimming speed in short bursts. If you ever see a crocodile swimming, perhaps on a Daintree River crocodile cruise in Queensland or on the Yellow Water billabong in Kakadu National Park, it is likely to be gliding along at a much slower pace.
Worrying about getting chased by a crocodile is fairly academic, however. Saltwater crocodiles don’t like to chase their prey. It’s not how they hunt.
Does it matter how fast crocodiles can swim?
They much prefer to lurk unseen in murky water, often in a hollow they’ve dug into a bank. They are opportunists, and will take whatever’s going past that they can be pretty sure they can capture.
Crocs play a percentages game. They don’t want to waste the effort chasing something they’re not sure they can get.
So that swimming speed is only ever needed in short bursts. It’s about coming from seemingly nowhere, and grabbing the prey before the prey has even realised what is happening.
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