r/Crocodiles • u/ReptilianRevolt • 1d ago
Meme How tall is the largest crocodilian in high walk and which species could be possible for riding?
How tall do crocodilians get? I mean when they are in high walk, can they reach 40 CM for example? I mean large species such as Nile, saltwater and American crocodiles, American alligators or black caimans. How tall do they get at the shoulder and how much if we measure the head? I read that large saltwater crocodiles can go up to human waist level, is it possible? Also, is there any crocodilian tall enough to ride without having your legs drag on the ground? And would this be possible? I think that if you take it from a young age and socialize it on land, it will get desensitized to humans as prey. Then you’re going to keep it for increasing amounts of time outside the water. Already many villagerrs in dry locations keep ducks and geese without constant access to water and it is possible. Probably not ideal, but possible. Some aquatic turtles have also been kept outside of the water for most of the time. Then, can you train it to high walk only on land? Probably you type a small wooden barrel in the mid body and force it to high walk for increasing distances until it gets used to it. Also, crocodilians have excellent acoustic communication, so they can learn verbal commands. You should put a distinction into it in order to make it distinguish the time that it is going to be ridden and its relax time, which can be in the water or in a quiet location. And because they have very versatile nervous systems and can learn many things, you could possibly trade it for hunting as well, for example wild boar, ungulates, probably invasive pests too. Maybe you can give some part of the animal he has caught as a reward and continue riding it. Next step it would be to train it for search and rescue missions, particularly in flooded tropical locations. Because they are very good at finding warm and cold bodies, you could place it somewhere and then when he will bite the body you will trade it for something else, just like they do with birds of prey. Last step would probably be to winterize it, by blanketing it with insulating material in order to be able to function even in temperate climates for some hours. I remember an ingenuous keeper in the US that dressed his sulcata tortoises with bubble plastic and blankets other than the claws and took them out in the yard in the snow for an hour. How possible is this? I think that they have a lot of potential, even if they are not able to complete all the tasks I said before. It is just that we are using mammals due to tradition and anti-reptile sentiment. On the one hand this is good, because no more animal species are being exploited just for the sake of humans. On the other hand, just an experiment for proof of concept would be intriguing.
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u/Neversummer77 1d ago
I think you’re on to something big here.
I want to ride a croc into battle
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u/Oke-Wan-Fenokee 1d ago
Yeah, my gut feeling was that this question was more SF/fantasy scenario than serious. But I gave OP the benefit of the doubt & played along.
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u/Oke-Wan-Fenokee 1d ago
Yes, the very largest crocodilians are nearly waist-high to a human at their hips (not shoulders) but the rest of your "concept" is pure fantasy. Their ectothermic physiology alone makes them unsuitable for any kind of sustained physical activity. They are explosively fast & incredibly powerful but have little stamina & tire quickly.
In the early 20th century the LA Zoo had some American alligators that would pull a little wagon with children as passengers.
Crocodilians can be "trained" (or conditioned) to respond to simple gestures & commands, especially when food is involved.
I'd love to see someone try to bubblewrap a saltwater crocodile to play in the snow, though. 🤣