Saltwater crocodile Facts for Kids

Crocodylus porosus · krok-oh-DIE-lus por-OH-sus

The biggest reptile alive, at home in rivers and even the sea.

🏃 speed: not yet checked
⚖️ weight: not yet checked
📏 20 ft6.1 m1 long
🎂 lifespan: not yet checked
🍽️ meat
Doing fine (Least Concern)

The saltwater crocodile is the biggest reptile. It can swim in rivers and in the sea. Its eyes and nose stick up out of the water.

Its eyes, ears and nostrils sit on top of its head, so it can float with almost all of its body hidden underwater. Unlike most crocodiles, it can live in salty sea water and sometimes swims between islands. A mother guards her nest and carries her babies gently in her mouth.

Saltwater crocodiles are the largest living reptiles. Special glands on the tongue let them get rid of extra salt, so they can travel along coasts and out to sea. They are patient hunters that wait at the water's edge. Hunting made them rare in many places, but protection has helped them come back in northern Australia.

How big is a saltwater crocodile?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🐊 Saltwater crocodile, 20 ft6.1 m long

Saltwater crocodile in numbers

Length	20 ft6.1 m1a maximum, not a typical adult
Height at the shoulder	no checked number yet
Weight	no checked number yet
Top speed	no checked number yet
How long it lives	no checked number yet
What it eats	fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water
Where it lives	rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia
What kind	Reptiles
Is it in danger?	Doing fine (Least Concern)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

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.

Compare the saltwater crocodile

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the saltwater crocodile eat?

Plants and animalsMeatTiny sea life

The answer: Meat. It eats fish, crabs, birds and animals that come to the water.

Where does the saltwater crocodile live?

ForestPondsSnow

The answer: Ponds. It lives in rivers, swamps and coasts from India to northern Australia.

Which is longer, the saltwater crocodile or the cheetah?

The cheetahThey're the sameThe saltwater crocodile

The answer: The saltwater crocodile. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the saltwater crocodile, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the saltwater crocodile for free.

Where these numbers come from

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, Saltwater crocodile (Q182599), checked 30 October 2026.