The crocodile jaw has very little opening strength, though; a crocodile's mouth can be held shut with just a rubber band. In addition to their strong jaws, crocodiles have very keen hearing. It is so good, in fact, that they can hear their babies calling from inside their eggs.
Did you know that the jaws of most crocodiles and alligators can be held closed with a rubber band? Their jaws close with tremendous force and sink into prey with tons of pressure (alligator = 2,980 psi [pounds per square inch] — Crocodile = 5,000 psi), but the muscles that open the jaws are weak.
When it wants to cool back down it can move out of the sun into the shade or a body or water. Another option for the crocodile is to open its mouth. This behavior is a way for the crocodile to release the heat from its body. It's similar to a dog panting to cool down.
Alligator jaw muscles have little strength for opening their mouth, but the muscles that shut them are very strong and have awesome force, about 300 pounds per square inch in an adult.
Trying to pry a croc's mouth open with your hands won't work. Their armor-like skin is near impenetrable—no amount of kicking, punching, or other fighting can pierce it—and their heads are solid masses of bone.
As grisly as it may be, the best bet for a human would be to try to get on top of the crocodile out of the water, attack its head, gouge its eyes, and try to do enough damage to knock it out. The chances of the fight going this way are practically none.
Now, some people may ask, “what if the human rolls the alligator on its stomach?” Even in that case, humans lack the power to kill a fully grown alligator. Without so much as a rock, the human won't be able to bludgeon, bite, or strangle the gator to death.
There are only two weak spots on a Crocodile for an unarmed human to target in the event of an attack, and then only if you're incredibly lucky. 99 percent of the time if any of you is in its mouth you're dead. Those two weak spots are the eyes.
The "winners"—saltwater crocodiles—slammed their jaws shut with 3,700 pounds per square inch (psi), or 16,460 newtons, of bite force. By contrast, you might tear into a steak with 150 to 200 psi (890 newtons).
If you roll an alligator on its back and hold it there, it will exhibit a strange behavior. After 15 or 20 seconds, the alligator will go limp and become unresponsive. It's called tonic immobility and, for a phenomenon so widespread in the animal kingdom, we know surprisingly little about it.
Lock Jaw: Crocodiles are very fast over short distances, even out of water. They have extremely powerful jaws and sharp teeth for tearing flesh, but cannot open their mouth if it is held closed, hence there are stories of people escaping from the long-snouted Nile Crocodile by holding its jaws shut.
However, studies have repeatedly shown that reptiles like crocodiles experience a variety of emotions. Of course, crocodiles feel fear and aggression. When they experience fear, they often flee from a situation. More interestingly, they appear to feel pleasure and satisfaction derived from playing.
It's just that you don't get that fishy smell you'd expect, even when you scoop a chunk of fish out of their stomach. I've often had my hand right at the esophagus, because they have a waterproof flap in the back of their mouth that you have to hold down when you put the stomach scoop in. And they don't stink.
Crocodiles can run very fast when they are about to attack. So, skip those "running in zigzag motion" advice and run in a straight line as fast as you can. The goal is to get away from the croc as far as possible.
Attempt to gouge, kick, or poke the animal in the eye with your hands or whatever you can grab. Don't give up until you are free, you are literally fighting for your life. Attack the animal's head. If you land as many blows as possible on the animal's head, you stand a higher chance that it will let go.
Crocodile vs Shark: Bite Power and Teeth
The crocodile has the strongest bite of any terrestrial animal at 3,700PSI while also using 66, 4-inch-long teeth on their prey. Sharks have them beat, though. They bite at 4,000PSI with 300 serrated teeth measuring more than two inches.
A crocodile would win a fight against a gorilla. Most of the fights would begin in or near water, and a gorilla doesn't stand a chance in that scenario. If a crocodile bit and dragged the gorilla into the water, then it's a simple victory. The two creatures might meet each other on land, though.
Bears have better senses than crocodiles, and they are stronger overall than crocodiles. Also, bears are faster on land than crocodiles. Both creatures rely on their bites to finish off enemies.
A hippo would win a fight against a crocodile. Although crocodiles are large, powerful creatures, they cannot kill a fully-grown hippo. Hippos are large, round animals that are much taller than crocodiles. The only place they would be vulnerable to attack is their legs.
The knife wouldn't be enough, alligators and crocodiles don't just lay down and die after being stuck with a knife a couple times. Their skin is remarkably tough, even compared to other animals. Putting a knife blade through it takes tremendous effort.
False – crocodiles are opportunistic hunters and will take advantage of an easy feed if available. Crocodiles can't open their mouth underwater therefore can't attack underwater.
It depends on the size of the crocodile. Juveniles are relatively easy to kill, but anything more than a few feet in length would be extremely difficult to kill without a weapon.