Photo of the Day: July 1, 2015

Here is another photo from this past weekend in northeastern Australia. While looking for Saltwater Crocodiles on the Daintree River my guide had to keep yelling at me to stop leaning so far over the sides of the boat to take photos. "Listen here mate, if you fall in I am not trying to save you from these croc-infested waters 'cause I reckon you'll be ripped to shreds in not too long," he said. Thankfully I didn't fall in! These crocodiles are the largest reptiles in the world and there are many cases of human fatality because of them. They have the most powerful bite of any animal in the world, closing their jaws with an insane 3,700 pounds per square inch of bite force. That is more than a lion, a great white shark, and even more than what the Tyrannosaurus rex was thought to have had. In this specific stretch of river the crocodiles have recently been attacking cows from a nearby cattle farm when they come down for a drink. This resulted in several cow carcasses being visible in the water. But beyond all of that these apex predators are crucial to their habitats and are so strikingly beautiful and perfect that they have not had to change since the time of the dinosaurs. I absolutely loved seeing these giants in the wild!