Crunch the Super-Croc

Crunch is 5.1metres long and weighs around 650kg

He was relocated from the wild in far north Queensland after he began to show interest in fishermen and locals in his area.

He was moved into a croc farm but soon found a knack for escaping into the barramundi ponds close by. He was then moved down to his home at Ballarat Wildlife Park where he wows and amazes guests with his high leaping action packed crocodile shows. Crunch the Super Croc!

Crunch was accused of eating a horse and was hanging around boat ramps (probably looking for fish scraps) so was deemed a threat to fisherman.

It took 3 attempts to catch him and he made it to the local news papers and was nicknamed Houdini because he escaped traps.

When he was finally caught and put into the croc farm he got out of the enclosure that had a female in with him and he didn’t like her so escaped that pen and made his way to a barramundi dam at the farm where they decided he could stay. The farm put a different female in with him (Bella) who just hid away and they never successfully mated. So, the owner of the farm said the croc would have to be killed for meat and skin.

Because he just loved this croc, (and he knew we were looking for a croc), the manager rang us at the Ballarat Wildlife Park. We went up to see him, decided he just what we were looking for. The manager also said we could have Bella. We have successfully had Crunch and Bella breed for several years in a row!

Saltwater crocodiles

The saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India’s east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 1996. It was hunted for its skin throughout its range up to the 1970s, and is threatened by illegal killing and habitat loss. It is regarded as dangerous to humans.

The saltwater crocodile is considered to be the largest living reptile.

Males can grow up to a length of 6 m (20 ft), rarely exceeding 6.3 m (21 ft), and a weight of 1,000–1,300 kg (2,200–2,900 lb). Females are much smaller and rarely surpass 3 m (10 ft). It is also called the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile, and informally as the saltie. A large and opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator, they ambush most of their prey and then drown or swallow it whole. They are capable of prevailing over almost any animal that enters their territory, including other predators such as sharks, varieties of freshwater and saltwater fish including pelagic species, invertebrates such as crustaceans, various amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, including humans.