05.20.05
Bull sharks and American alligators are swimming around in the same Florida estuaries.
Hmmm.
Think there's any interspecies predation there?
If I were a gator, I'd eat sharks* all of the time if'n they taste good.
Now, I wonder which one would win in a fight.
500 lbs of 12-foot long gator, or 500 lbs of 11-foot long shark?
I'm thinking the gator would crush the shit out of the shark, but the shark might get in a few good nips, too.
God bless Animal Face-Offs, for letting me ponder these things with more information.
According to them, Hippo beats Bull Shark, Great White beats Saltwater Croc, Lion beats Croc, and Bear beats American Alligator.
Of course the Hippo killed the Bull Shark. It probably stood on it and didn't even notice it was there.
And a Great White has a colossal bite radius, so even though the Croc probably has better bite strength, the Great White would probably chomp a big enough chunk out of the Croc to kill it before it ran the risk of cartilage-pulverizing chomps. Mmm. A chomp-off.
Bear and Lion both have flesh-shredding claws and strong jaws, and the Bear has incredible strength to crush things. So, even though Croc and Gator can chomp, the mammals are both more agile. I don't know if I agree with their results, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Croc has slightly fleshy underbelly and a low, broad profile, but tough scaly hide. The Bull Shark has a thick skin, but it's still skin, not hide. The Bull Sharks tend to go for appendages, and Crocs tend to grab whatever's handiest, drown or crush it, and then chomp and roll around until it's in edible bits. Crocs do have legs, but they are fairly close to the body, so that's a tougher grab. And the Shark has easier appendages -- fins galore, and no messy bones to crunch.
They should do that Face-Off, if only because it's remotely plausible.
Yes, there are Saltwater Crocs and Great Whites both along the Australian coastline, but the Crocs stay closer in to shore. And I suppose that some of the other animals do live near each other sometimes -- Lion and Crocodile (Non-Saltwater variety) might meet at the same watering hole in Africa, and Bears and Gators do both occupy the Everglades.
*According to the Vancouver Aquarium, crocodiles and alligators do predate on sharks, as well as pretty much anything else they can get their jaws around.
What's in your head?