Surf's Up on the High Seas? What a Croc!

Not sure if Hang 10 is supposed to be the number of teeth or the decibel level of the roar, but the image of crocodiles surfing a wave has me chuckling — and frightened.

Seems some research recently released by a group of ecologists out of Australia led these scientists to conclude that the saltwater crocodile, one of the worst swimmers ever of creatures who make their home in water, ended up in far-flung places across the Pacific, despite the fact that they originated in Queensland.

Paddling on the board or riding the wave on two legs? Take your pick. I wouldn't be surprised to find some secret video footage showing some croc dudes going vertical on a wave, using their tails as balancing acts and eschewing such things as surfboards and ankle safeguards. In fact, I wouldn't put anything past crocodiles. They've been found to do some mighty impressive things over the years.

So anyway, these scientists got in touch with the family of Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" himself, and worked with them on tracking some big-tailed crocs along Australia's Kennedy River — which, like many places in Australia, is a blind sight far away from any other place in Australia. So these scientists dropped sets of sonar transmitters and sound receivers in the river and listened in for an entire year, cataloging the movements of saltwater crocodiles and other water-based wildlife. (Presumably, the fish and other creatures that ended up being food for the crocs were eventually crossed off the list of "things to track.")

What the data showed is that some of these saltwater crocodiles, despite being winded and needing a nap exceeding three-and-a-half days after swimming for just 20 minutes, had moved rather quickly more than 35 miles upstream. A full 8 out of the 27 crocodiles being watched carried on down the river for miles at a time, oblivious to the fact that they didn't have the best swim technique in the world. One rather large beast was found to have traveled 367 miles in less than a month to an entirely new river system. (And that big beast stayed a full seven months before going home — must have had an extended series of "encounters" at the new place.)

Since the scientists were almost positive that the crocs weren't on some sort of anabolic cardiovascular improvement plan, they concluded that the answer had to be surfing.

OK, so technically the crocs were riding on surface currents and letting the water do the talking. Isn't that what surfers do?

You don't see guys or gals on surfboards chowing down on burgers, fries, and shakes, do you? No. Well, you wouldn't see crocs doing it, either, mainly because they don't need to. They can go for months without food or fresh water, so a surf across a vast waterway like the Pacific Ocean isn't out of the realm of the active imagination. Paddle a few times, get up some speed, catch a current, go along for the ride. That's surfing!

These saltwater crocodiles are big fellas and gals as well, so their normal exertions tire them out. Better to rest on the ocean currents than try to swim for it and lose all motivation for carrying on. Come to think of it, that would be my preferred mode of surfing.