Crocodiles and elephants are two creatures that live in different hemispheres. While they live too far away to fight each other in real life, that doesn’t mean we can’t imagine what could happen in a crocodile-elephant fight. We can use information about their physical characteristics and fighting methods along with educated guesses to figure out how the fight will go.
So what happens when this mean reptile meets an angry elephant? We will arrange for you one by one.
Comparing Crocodiles and Elephants
© AZ-Animals.com
| Crocodile | elephant | |
| size | Weight: 400 lbs to 800 lbs (sometimes more) Height: 1′ to 2′ off the ground Length: 8.2′ to 11.2′ long | Weight: 6,500 lbs – 12,000 lbs Height: 7′ – 12′ Shoulders: 18′ – 21′ |
| speed and movement type | – 30 mph over short distances on land – Exercise includes swimming and running fast on the ground. | – 9-25 mph – able to charge |
| Bite Force and Teeth | – 2,980 PSI bite force – about 80 teeth – Teeth about 2 inches long | – Elephants have weak teeth and don’t use them for defense. |
| the senses | – Poor vision in water due to protective film – Good visibility on land – High acceptance of vibrations – Strong sense of smell. | – good hearing – poor eyesight – Can smell food from miles away |
| defense | – camouflage – speed – Hissing threat display | – Huge size scares away predators as adults – tough skin |
| offensive ability | – Strong bite – Death rolls can be amputated instantly – Speed allows for devastating quick attacks to occur | – Ivory can pierce enemies – A devastating stomp attack – Can use head and torso to knock enemies over – High IQ makes them wary and wary of others |
| predatory behavior | – Keep eyes and nostrils above water to ambush prey – Clip onto enemies and use death rolls | – Non-predator but will savagely attack intruders – Grazing most of the day |
The key factor in the fight between the crocodile and the elephant
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We don’t need to examine every piece of data about crocodiles and elephants to get a good idea of which side will win the battle. Instead, a better way to see which creature will kill the other is to examine the physical composition of both and the way they attack enemies.
By considering these two overall aspects of the comparison, we will gain enough insight to determine whether reptiles or mammals walk away from this battle.
Physical Characteristics of Crocodiles and Elephants
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The crocodile is an aggressive reptile that has been relatively unchanged for some time on an evolutionary level; it’s an amazing predator. Elephants are large, hulking mammals that only want to find food and water while tending to their herd.
See what physics would come into play if these two men met and fought to the death.
Crocodile vs. Elephant: Size
Alligators are very large for a reptile, sometimes weighing as much as 800 pounds and measuring 11 feet long. This creature can hunt large game including deer. In fact, the largest crocodile ever recorded weighed 1,380 pounds, which shows the size that alligators can achieve.
However, it is tiny compared to a 12-foot elephant and taller than a crocodile. Elephants also weigh more than 12,000 pounds, more than 10 times the weight of a crocodile.While the largest crocodile ever was big, the largest elephant ever recorded was real Huge, weighing around 24,000 lbs!
Elephants gain a size advantage.
Crocodile vs Elephant: Speed and Action
Despite its stubby legs, the crocodile can reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour over short distances. It uses leaping motions on the ground and swims well. The elephant can only run at 25 mph, but it can run at 25 mph for longer distances.
We call speed and movement a draw, because the Alligator is technically faster but lacks durability.
Crocodiles vs Elephants: Bite Force and Teeth
The elephant doesn’t have much bite force because it is a herbivore. However, alligators have a great bite force, over 2,900 PSI of bite force can drive 2 inches of teeth into an enemy. The bite force of the crocodile is strong enough to make it difficult for the enemy to escape, allowing the crocodile to perform a “death roll”.
Alligators have an advantage in bite force and teeth.
Crocodile vs. Elephant: Senses
Elephants have excellent hearing and smell, but poor vision. Crocodiles’ vision in water is obscured by a protective membrane, but is fine on land. They have a great sense of smell and are very sensitive to vibrations in the water.
Alligators and elephants feel about the same, so they are a tie.
Crocodile vs. Elephant: Physical Defense
Crocodiles rely on their camouflage, speed, and fearsome display of threat to fend off enemies, but not always successfully. The elephant uses its large size and thick skin to repel threats, and often to great effect. In fact, once an elephant reaches adult size, few creatures actively hunt it down as prey.
Crocodiles have more diverse defenses, but elephants have more impressive ones.
Elephants gain the advantage of physical defense.
Crocodile and Elephant Fighting Skills
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The physical element of animals is only part of the equation in combat. Predatory instincts and the ability to kill another creature to your advantage are also important in a fight between two animals.
We’ll compare elephants and crocodiles to see which one has better fighting skills.
Alligator vs. Elephant: Offensive Capabilities
Elephants have two basic attack abilities. It will thrust its trunk and head against its prey, turning the foe over, or the elephant will turn it over and trample it to death. These methods are simple but effective.
Alligators have devastating bites. The crocodile will bite the enemy, pin it down, and start the death roll. Basically, the creature grabs a piece of prey and rolls it until it falls off, resulting in dismemberment or the tearing of chunks of flesh from the animal.
Both creatures are very capable killers, so attack power is a tie.
Crocodiles and Elephants: Predation
Elephants have no predation behavior. It is a natural herbivore and will only attack when something enters its territory. Alligators are elite ambush predators that wait at the water’s edge for their prey to drink before swooping in, dragging them into the depths while inflicting a bite or launching a death roll.
Alligators can chase prey on land with equal ease, using bursts of speed to secure prey.
All in all, crocodiles gain an advantage in predation behavior.
What is the main difference between a crocodile and an elephant?
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Elephants are mammals that weigh up to 12,000 pounds and stand about 12 feet tall, and crocodiles are reptiles that are about 11 feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds. Crocodiles are carnivores while elephants are herbivores.
Alligators are known to kill their prey with their bite, but elephants kill other animals with their feet or tusks. Elephants bathe in water and dress in mud, but they spend most of their time on land. Crocodiles are semi-aquatic reptiles that spend most of their time in the water.
These are the key differences between these two organisms.
Who would win a fight between a crocodile and an elephant?
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Elephant will win the battle with crocodile. Crocodiles are too vulnerable to elephant trampling attacks, and they cannot inflict fatal injuries to elephants. They can’t bite the elephant’s legs, they can’t beat the elephant’s legs to death, and of course they can’t reach the elephant’s head.
The fight likely started with the crocodile biting the elephant’s torso or head because the elephant needed water in the heat. Angry and in pain, the elephant swung its head back and forth and finally got away from the crocodile.
Since then, reptiles have gone downhill. The elephant will bounce it into the air and hold it up with its powerful tusks. When it lay in the mud, angry elephants would trample it to death, leaving a ruin.
Elephants often kill crocodiles, their larger, stronger cousins.
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