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You can just look at some animals and know that dinosaurs were very real (well, if fossils haven't persuaded you). Take this crocodile in Australia: at 18 feet long (ish... I don't think anyone has gotten close enough to measure him), Brutus is a monster by anyone's standards. Tourists to Australia's Northern Territory pay money for a crocodile boat tour for a chance to see one of these giants up close, and this particular group got a great experience. This photo went through a ridiculous amount of skepticism but it appeared in Time magazine's pictures of the year for 2011, and that's good enough for me. It helps that Photoshop experts also think it's real, there's video of Mr. Brutus, and you can apparently see the reflection of the monster croc in one of the boat passenger's sunglasses, not to mention anyone can go to Australia's Northern Territory, buy this same crocodile boat tour, and have a pretty decent chance of seeing their star character for themselves, but I figure Time magazine has a handle on which images are faked and which are real.
In the picture you can see Mr. Brutus is missing his right leg, which locals say is because he got into a fight with a shark (Brutus is a saltwater crocodile). Nonetheless he's still getting some serious air as he leaps for whatever meat the tour guide is dangling. This seems akin to shark diving, something I'm actually very interested in doing someday when I have the expendable cash for a flight out to South Africa, although somehow a steel cage in the water seems safer than a tin boat on top of the water...
Saltwater crocodiles are the largest species of crocodiles and the largest of all reptiles, and the largest accurately recorded croc was just over 20 feet long with unverified reports of crocs reaching 23 feet long. All I can say is I'm adding saltwater crocodile to the list of animals I don't want to meet in they're natural habitats, a list which includes hippos and Indian gaur at the top. It's nearly impossible to look at a creature such as a saltwater crocodile without being reminded that dinosaurs once roamed this whole planet. Crocodiles (and cayman, alligators, iguana and all other lizards), sharks and ostriches (to be fair, all birds are more or less remnants of dinosaurs) all remind me of the animals that once were. And when you look at it that way, these guys are the kings of the animal kingdom, a title we usually reserve for ourselves... or the roaches, if we're being funny. These living reptiles and birds survived whatever killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, proved they can adapt no matter what, and will most likely not be harmed by anything us mere humans can do.
This way of thinking solidifies the idea that us humans will be the only thing disappearing from our planet because of our own actions. We might take a few species with us, but mammals will still exist, new species will evolve and reptiles will continue to rule our world. We should be taking care of our planet so we can continue living on it, not necessarily because we care about other animals living on it.
Lindsay writes her animal loving blog Miniature Mastadon and, right up until her senior year of high school, was going to work with animals. After changing courses and getting a degree in writing, she ended up working in a zoo for a little more than a year. Being face to face with rhinos, giraffes, ostriches, gaur and even super close to an elephant herd (faves) dawned the realization that she can't quite ignore the need to be involved in some way. The Miniature Mastadon is an outlet to write about animal news, triumphs, discoveries, and even some sadness. All discussion, thoughts, questions and stories are most fully welcome so come chime in!
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