So after a nice swim and rest, Machli got up to go for a walk -- and we followed along in our jeep. Unfortunately there was no jeep trail where she was going, so we had to go up a hill and watch her from afar. So we were watching her walk -- when our guide noticed a crocodile attacking a sambar deer in a nearby pond -- it was absolutely amazing to watch, felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic documentary.
First the crocodile went after the deer's neck, missed, dropped back, and then caught the deer's hind foot. And then the waiting game ... crocodiles don't actually kill their prey directly -- they chomp down on them and then try to drag them into deeper water so that the prey will drown. This deer kept up a good game for over 1 hour -- getting up numerous times on its 3 legs and trying to get back to land. Didn't help though that Machli the tiger decided to watch for awhile -- the tiger would have tried to grab the deer from the crocodile if the deer had come close enough to where she (Machli) was sitting.
Note: double-click on the pictures to enlarge them
- Picture #1 & #2: look in the center of the picture -- to the left you'll see the deer and pretty much dead center you'll see the crocodile's tail
- Picture #3: tiger waiting to see if she can get the deer
- Picture #4: the deer's final attempt to escape
- Picture #5: game over
More on crocodiles: their jaws bite down with immense force, by far the strongest bite of any animal -- the crocodile's bite force is more than 5,000 pounds per square inch compared to just 335 pounds per square inch for a rottweiler.
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