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Crocodiles: the water's edge is the danger, not the water

Crocodiles kill more people each year than sharks, bears and wolves combined, and almost all of those deaths happen within a couple of metres of the bank. Saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia and Southeast Asia and Nile crocodiles across Africa are ambush predators that strike from water at anyone who comes to it.

  • 11High risk
  • 13Medium
  • 5Low
  • 29Zones tracked

They watch routine

Crocodiles learn patterns. Fetching water, washing, fishing or launching a boat at the same spot each day builds a predictable schedule that a large animal will eventually exploit. This is why local advice in crocodile country is always to vary where and when you go to the water, and never to stand at the same place twice.

Saltwater crocodiles are not confined to salt water

The name misleads. Saltwater crocodiles range far up freshwater rivers, into billabongs, creeks and swamps, and cross open sea between islands. In northern Australia the working assumption is that any body of water may hold one unless a ranger has said otherwise.

How to avoid it

  • Stay several metres back from any water's edge in crocodile country, including when taking photographs.
  • Never swim in, wade through, or dangle limbs from a boat in rivers, estuaries or billabongs where they occur.
  • Do not clean fish, discard scraps or camp within about 50 metres of the water.
  • Obey warning signs absolutely; they exist because an animal has been seen there.
  • Vary your times and locations if you must access water regularly.
  • Be extra careful at dawn, dusk and during the breeding season, when large males are most aggressive.

Where we track it

29 zones in the Dangers Here hazard database, by danger level.

High

  • Borneo — Kalimantan, Sabah & Sarawak
  • Eastern & Southern Africa — Nile, Zambezi & Lakes
  • India — Mugger Crocodile Rivers
  • Indonesian Papua — Asmat, Mimika & the Mamberamo
  • Northern Australia — Kakadu & the Top End
  • Okavango Delta, Botswana
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Solomon Islands
  • Southern Philippines — Palawan, the Visayas & Mindanao
  • Sundarbans — India & Bangladesh
  • West African Coast — Senegal to the Niger Delta

Medium

  • Caribbean Coast — Colombia & Venezuela
  • Congo Basin — Gabon to the Lower Congo
  • Cuba — Zapata Swamp & the south coast
  • Egypt — Lake Nasser & Upper Nile
  • Madagascar — Western Rivers
  • Mexico & Central America — Pacific Coast
  • Orinoco Basin — Venezuela & Colombia
  • Pacific Coast — Colombia to Tumbes
  • Sahel — Niger, Benue & Lake Chad
  • Sindh, Balochistan & Iranian Sistan
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sumatra — Mangrove Coasts & Estuaries
  • Yucatán, Belize & the Caribbean Coast

Low

  • Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar
  • Hispaniola — Lago Enriquillo & the coast
  • Indochina — Siamese Crocodile
  • Jamaica — South Coast Wetlands
  • South Florida — Everglades, Florida Bay & the Keys

Questions

Where are crocodiles a risk?

We track 29 zones for this hazard. 11 are rated high risk, including Borneo — Kalimantan, Sabah & Sarawak, Eastern & Southern Africa — Nile, Zambezi & Lakes, India — Mugger Crocodile Rivers, Indonesian Papua — Asmat, Mimika & the Mamberamo, Northern Australia — Kakadu & the Top End. 13 are rated medium and 5 low.

How do you avoid crocodiles?

Stay several metres back from any water's edge in crocodile country, including when taking photographs. Never swim in, wade through, or dangle limbs from a boat in rivers, estuaries or billabongs where they occur. Do not clean fish, discard scraps or camp within about 50 metres of the water.

They watch routine

Crocodiles learn patterns. Fetching water, washing, fishing or launching a boat at the same spot each day builds a predictable schedule that a large animal will eventually exploit. This is why local advice in crocodile country is always to vary where and when you go to the water, and never to stand at the same place twice.

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