🐻❄️ Polar bear vs Saltwater crocodile 🐊
The saltwater crocodile is about 4 times as long as the polar bear.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐻❄️ Polar bear | 🐊 Saltwater crocodile |
|---|---|---|
| Size The saltwater crocodile is about 4 times as long as the polar bear. | 4.9 ft1.5 m1 | 20 ft6.1 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the saltwater crocodile yet. | 399 to 1,450 lb181 to 658 kg1 | no checked number yet |
| Lives We don't have a checked number for the saltwater crocodile yet. | 25 years25 years1 | no checked number yet |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice | fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole | rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia |
Which one? Polar bear or saltwater crocodile
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the polar bear or the saltwater crocodile yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
8 things to know about Polar bear vs Saltwater crocodile
- The polar bear: The biggest bear, at home on the frozen Arctic sea ice.
- The saltwater crocodile: The biggest reptile alive, at home in rivers and even the sea.
- They are different kinds of animal. The polar bear is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk; the saltwater crocodile is a reptile, so it has scaly skin.
- The saltwater crocodile is about 4 times as long as the polar bear: 2 against 1.
- Both eat meat. The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice; the saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water.
- The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. The saltwater crocodile lives in rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The polar bear: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The saltwater crocodile: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐻❄️ Polar bear
- Under its white-looking fur, a polar bear's skin is black.
- Each hair is clear and hollow, not white.
- Its huge paws work like paddles and snowshoes.
🐊 Saltwater crocodile
- A mother carries her babies gently in her mouth.
- It can float with only its eyes and nose above water.
- It can swim out to sea, between islands.
Questions kids ask about Polar bear and Saltwater crocodile
Which is bigger, polar bear or saltwater crocodile?
The saltwater crocodile is about 4 times as long as the polar bear: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, polar bear or saltwater crocodile?
We only have a checked weight for the polar bear: 1. Scientists are still working out the other.
What do polar bear and saltwater crocodile eat?
Both eat meat. The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice; the saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water.
Where do polar bear and saltwater crocodile live?
The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. The saltwater crocodile lives in rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do polar bears eat saltwater crocodiles?
The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice. Saltwater crocodiles are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the saltwater crocodile is about 4 times as long as the polar bear.
Do saltwater crocodiles eat polar bears?
The saltwater crocodile eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water. Polar bears are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, polar bear or saltwater crocodile?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/polar-bear-vs-saltwater-crocodile
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service rule, Federal Register 24 June 1996 (govinfo.gov), checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.