Crocodiles: Under The Skin
Film Summary
High Definition
52:00 mins
Science & Nature
/ Wildlife
Worldwide
Brief Summary
Saltwater crocodiles are one of the most successful predators the world has ever seen. They out-lasted the dinosaurs and survived a catastrophic extinction event that wiped out the dominant species on the planet. A 200 million year-old biological design, perfectly engineered for the modern world. But how can a creature this primitive still be state-of-the-art? The answer lies beneath its skin - and that's where we take you. A rare dissection opens up the inner workings of this bio-engineered machine. The saltie's weaponry: perhaps the most powerful jaws since T-Rex. Its early warning system: built-in pressure detectors that allow this huge beast to strike in an eye-blink. Multi-tasking organs that give the croc a killer edge. And one of biology's greatest mysteries - was the crocodile once warm-blooded, like us? Of the 23 known species of crocodilian - the giant saltwater crocodile known as the 'saltie' is the unchallenged king. It can grow over 20 feet long...and weigh well over a ton! It's the biggest and most dangerous reptile in the world. Across the planet, croc horror stories, photographs and videos circulate on the Internet. The man-eater that took two hundred humans off the coast of the Congo; the giant alligator that escaped the New Orleans Zoo and preyed on the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We will reveal that what little truth there is to these sensational stories usually comes down to a saltie attack. How do crocs navigate through the murkiest water? How can they survive hideous injuries and never suffer infection? Can they learn? Remarkable scientific experiments conducted exclusively for us prove that salties risk self-destruction every time they attack. We analyse the structural engineering of the greatest bite on the planet. But most remarkably, we investigate crocodile blood - so resistant to bacteria it may help cure some of humankind's deadliest diseases! We will witness the extraordinary facts behind a creature we once dismissed as a 'living fossil'.
Year Filmed: 2007
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