Do crocodiles eat turtles? Learn if an alligator hunts turtles in the wild or not!
A lot of animals eat turtles as their daily routine and a part of the dietary plan. Their main enemies out in the wild are birds, sharks, snakes, or killer whales. Sometimes even other turtles (when the size difference is quite large) tend to eat one another and cultivate cannibalism among these creatures. However, sometimes other animals prey on turtles. One of such examples is an alligator or a crocodile.
So, to put it shortly, alligators eat turtles. That’s correct. Nonetheless, we should remember that because of a turtle shell and the fact that their habitats are slightly diverse, they do not do that as often as other carnivores. But what is the reason for such a behavior? Will an alligator or a crocodile hunt a turtle whenever it has got a chance?
There are quite a lot of different questions as far as turtles and alligators are concerned. What do alligators usually eat? How often will they look for a fellow reptile? What is the chance for an alligator to break a turtle shell? If you wish to know the answers on these questions, I strongly encourage you to read the following article. There, I share my own, personal knowledge about adult and baby turtles as well as their encounters with alligators.
First of all, why would such a predator devour something we like to keep as a pet?
Well, because it is a piece of meat and, as you can guess, alligators are known for being a carnivore – a meat-eating animal. Furthermore, there are no biological contraindications, so alligators can eat all the turtles and tortoises out there. How does it happen that even a turtle shell does not stop them?
Well, in some cases it does – not every alligator species can hunt on the largest and the most durable shells. As a result, they may catch the turtle but if they miss the opportunity to grab one of its limbs and simply bite the shell, they will most likely leave it as it is once they get bored.
Nonetheless, the inability to get through the shell is not as often as you may think. The alligator’s bone-crunching bite can easily destroy most smaller and medium-sized turtles. That is why you can see an abundance of videos showing an alligator snapping a turtle like it’s a nut in a nutcracker.
Even if alligators may eat a turtle, why don’t we see it happen as often as it should?
Well, they usually eat something else. Here are some reasons why in most cases many turtles can avoid the powerful jaw of an adult alligator:
Saved by a different habitat
The only reason why we don’t see alligators eat turtles as often as it should happen is because their habitat is different. You see, rarely it happens that turtles stay at the same place as crocodiles. These carnivores love dry areas with access to water, whereas humidity is the perfect option for turtles. That is why habitat as turtles need is a relatively safe space for such gigantic hunters. Together in the wild they would surely attack turtles.
Tortoises, on the other hand, are much more into dry conditions. Still, alligators and crocodiles need water to survive to a much greater extent than tortoises, since they simply need a little bit of damp ground and some drinkable water from time to time. As a result, turtles in the wild rarely ever meet these hunters.
Saved by a turtle shell
Rarely ever a predator of a small or average size is not possible to get through the shell. There are two main reasons for such a thing to happen. The first one is an obvious one, which is simply that the shell is incredibly sturdy. It is basically the turtle’s spine and there are hundreds of bones in there. Furthermore, sometimes alligators can’t get the right, firm grip and, as a result, turtles tend to slip away.
Still, such a situation happens very rarely and only in the case of large specimens. If smaller turtles encounter such a predator, then without a doubt they will consume turtles and enjoy quite an easy snack.
What other reptiles and animals like turtles as their meal?
Sadly for freshwater turtles as well as tortoises, almost every predator that is considered a force of nature will see an opportunity to catch this reptile, especially if it is hungry.
Do foxes eat turtles?
Though foxes do not treat our pet reptiles as their first meal choice, they will surely treat turtle nests as an interesting option as a substitute.
Do sharks eat turtles?
Yes, this is a quite serious danger to all the turtles. Even tough shells is not enough to protect them from sharks teeth.
Do hawks eat turtles?
Usually they look for juveniles and baby turtles, as well as the nests. However, if a hawk sees an adult, small turtle, it might as well choose that as its next meal.
Turtles ride on crocodiles? How is it possible?
Quite an interesting thing happens from time to time, namely alligators and turtles can, seemingly, live in peace and harmony. You see, turtles ride on alligators from time to time, which is surely quite a funny thing to see. However, how is it even possible that a predator that normally should hunt on our reptile is willing to “let it slide”? Well, it is more about ignoring the turtle rather than letting such a thing happen.
Well, the simplest reason for such a phenomenon to occur is because crocs are not always hungry. And in that case, they will not hunt many turtles that decide to stay on top of them.
But why does it happen? And for how long can turtles ride on alligators?
First of all, riding on the back of the croc’s back is not something that happens on rare occasions. Obviously, such a behavior is much more common in places where two habitats are merged or placed next to each other – for example in zoos or other botanic-oriented gardens and parks. By no means does it mean that these two incredibly different animals get along for such a phenomenon to occur.
Usually, we see turtles riding a croc only when the carnivore is full and does not want to hunt for food. The main reason why turtles do that is because they simply mistake alligators for driftwoods and use them in order to back on their back. The hunters need to sunbask just as their prey usually do, so they lie down in the shallow water or near the beach for hours.
As a result of that, turtles ride on alligators for as long as the hunter allows them to do such a thing. Usually, it can happen even for long hours, since idle laying is quite a popular and long activity among these predators. Sadly, once hungry, alligator snapping turtles will be quite a common view. Luckily for turtles, they don’t have to stay for such a long time on top of their back, so usually we see videos of turtles riding the predators without a continuation.
What about eggs? Can alligators eat turtle eggs?
Both crocodiles and alligators also eat turtle eggs. Similarly to what sea turtles do, these predators need to go on the beach and dig a right place to lay their eggs. From time to time, they will find turtle eggs and simply consume them since it is also an appropriate dose of protein they can provide to their bodies.
Summary and conclusion – now you know if alligators prey on sea turtles and tortoises
As you can see, baby turtles, small adult turtles, as well as mediu turtles are easy prey for both alligators and crocodiles. Their powerful jaws will crack the shell with ease. There are; of course, some exceptions, especially if we are dealing with juvenile alligators or large turtles with much harder shells.
Still, neither tortoises nor sea turtles should be afraid of alligators or crocodiles on a daily basis. Since they live in slightly different habitats, the situation where crocs consume a turtle is rather rare. Therefore, even if crocodiles do eat turtles, these predators are not their first, second, or even third largest threat in the wilderness.
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