# Could a 10-12-foot-long crocodile crush a human skull? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732 "2011-07-20T17:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/21 "2011-07-21T16:31:15Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > A 12 foot crocodile is a fairly small croc but makes the equivalent of a good sized alligator. Either of them at that size can kill people at will. As noted, their biting force is incredible but they have very little strength to open their mouth so a skilled person can wrestle one of that size and win as long as they force its mouth closed and keep the front legs at a safe distance. 12 feet is small for a saltwater croc but average for a Nile crocodile and large for a mugger. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/22 "2011-07-21T16:33:25Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The strength of the bite is probably to hold onto prey they seize at the edge of the water and drag in. They have to hold onto prey the size of a wildebeest while it struggles frantically so they can drown it. Sharks have a fraction of the bite strength. Are they more “carrion/sick&dying” feeders? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/23 "2011-07-21T16:38:03Z")
No, they just don’t generally eat large or fast prey. Large sharks feed on smaller marine mammals, fish and molluscs, mostly. Plus they don’t have to worry about large prey escaping; if they bite something and it doesn’t die, they swim after it and bite it again. A crocodile has no chance of catching anything once it gets away from water, so it must kill with the first bite or at least hold on long enough to drown its prey. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/24 "2011-07-21T16:38:34Z")
One thing I don’t like about the mechanical bite test machines: When I bite really hard, I may suffer discomfort either due to crooked teeth, crooked/hard food, or uneven load on the teeth and jaw. This causes me to relax the pressure. The mechanical jaws will just crush until something breaks. Do honest to goodness predators learn to ignore bite discomfort? ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/25 "2011-07-21T17:09:26Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > One thing I don’t like about the mechanical bite test machines: When I bite really hard, I may suffer discomfort either due to crooked teeth, crooked/hard food, or uneven load on the teeth and jaw. This causes me to relax the pressure. The mechanical jaws will just crush until something breaks. > > Do honest to goodness predators learn to ignore bite discomfort? I can’t answer as to whether they have learned to ignore the discomfort or if they even feel any by our standards, but they do regrow lost teeth for their entire lives. Each tooth already has a new, replacement tooth growing and ready to take over if the main tooth gets knocked out, which must happen frequently due to the forces you mention. In other words I don’t think they pull any punches when they are trying to catch dinner or defend themselves, even though it might cost them a couple of teeth. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/26 "2011-07-21T17:18:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > No, they just don’t generally eat large or fast prey. Large sharks feed on smaller marine mammals, fish and molluscs, mostly. Plus they don’t have to worry about large prey escaping; if they bite something and it doesn’t die, they swim after it and bite it again. A crocodile has no chance of catching anything once it gets away from water, so it must kill with the first bite or at least hold on long enough to drown its prey. Seals are fast, aren’t they? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/27 "2011-07-21T17:20:04Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I can’t answer as to whether they have learned to ignore the discomfort or if they even feel any by our standards, but they do regrow lost teeth for their entire lives. > > Each tooth already has a new, replacement tooth growing and ready to take over if the main tooth gets knocked out, which must happen frequently due to the forces you mention. In other words I don’t think they pull any punches when they are trying to catch dinner or defend themselves, even though it might cost them a couple of teeth. Thanks! Do humans have more nerves going into the teeth and gums? We may have more sensitive mouths. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/28 "2011-07-21T17:36:58Z")
Could a 10-12-foot-long [chocodile](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocodile) crush a human skull? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/29 "2011-07-21T18:08:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Could a 10-12-foot-long [chocodile](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocodile) crush a human skull? Or a 10-12 foot [Cocoadile](http://pinataisland.info/viva/Cocoadile)? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/30 "2011-07-21T18:41:32Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Seals are fast, aren’t they? Sure, but they’re not as fast relative to a shark as an ungulate is relative to a crocodile on land. ---
**Author:** ![Disenchantment](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f04885/32.png) [@Disenchantment](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disenchantment)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732/31 "2011-07-23T05:53:34Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > It’s crummy quality, but here’s teh video > Warning! It’s a video of a > [Crocodile biting a guy’s head](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD3knsw5XXg)! > > No blood or guts or anything. > > I’d say the croc is about 10’ long. OK honestly, how stupid and is this imbecile in the video to _willingly and intentionally_ place his whole damn head into a croc’s open jaws without expecting something bad to happen? Natural selection in action, I’d say. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-10-12-foot-long-crocodile-crush-a-human-skull/589732.md?page=1)