Who would win a fight between a shark and a crocodile?

Question

A great white shark and a saltwater crocodile lets say...

Answer 1

Shark easy. The issue here is that a Great White is pelagic (deeper waters) and a crocodile is coastal (shallows). This gives an advantage to a great White because is is much faster, and can accelerate over longer distances. A slatwater croc is a great shallow ambush predator, but not against something as big and fast as a Great White.

This contest is highly unlikely in the real world as the two animals have different niches as predators and do not cross-compete for resources. It would be like asking who would win, Gearge W Bush, or Luke Perry. Why would they fight?

Answer 2

Well salt water have been known to eat small sharks, but to go up against a great white shark, it depends on whose bigger. If there the same size, it could go either way. Being an air breather, the salt water is at a disadvantage. When it goes up for air, it puts it vulnerable underbelly at risk. But if the crocodile manages to bite the shark's tail, it would have the advantage. Oh by the way both crocodile and shark have very protective skin.

Answer 3

I think the crocodile would win. The crocodile's shell is too hard for the shark to bite and the croc could tear into the shark quickly and easily.

Answer 4

The tv show was called "animal face-off". I don't think they have shown it in a long time, but the shark did win.

But think about this - reasons why a great white (or even a really large tiger shark, which can get nearly as big as white sharks) will win most of the time. A croc's mechanism for attacking, wounding and killing prey is far different than a shark's.

Granted, crocs and gators are as famous as sharks for their jaws full of nasty teeth, but those teeth are designed to grip rather than slice and dice. A crock will ambush a victim (say an animal at the water's edge), rush forward, sieze the prey in its jaws and complete the kill by pulling the prey underwater until it drowns. Its other option is the death roll, but generally this comes into play when feeding, as crocs can't chew but must pull off pieces to swallow whole. A death-rolling croc is capable of ripping legs (or in the case of unfortunate human victims, arms) off an animal which is likely to lead to death, but its normal mechanism of killing is to let the water drown the prey.

Now, a great white, on the other hand, kills not by gripping and drowning (since all of its natural prey is aquatic, of course) but by slashing out massive chunks of flesh, letting the victim bleed to death. Therefore its teeth and jaws must be capable of cutting quickly thru the tough skin and thick blubber of marine mammals, and in addition it is capable of slicing thru the shells of sea turtles (as can the tiger shark).

So while a croc could rip off a fin or other appendage from the shark, it really has no instant way of seriously disabling and killing its enemy. But the shark CAN instantly rip a huge piece out of a croc, and its belly is very vulnerable to such attacks.

So it boils down to the weaponry: a steel trap meant only for gripping and holding (the croc's jaws) vs a circular saw meant for slicing thru meat and bone (the shark's teeth). It's easy to see why the shark has the advantage.

Answer 5

I'd go with Shark because they have more energy overall. Crocodiles require lots of time sitting and doing nothing to allow their bodies to heat up because they are exotherms, whereas Great White Sharks can heat up certain muscles and areas of their body by themselves, so they are considered endothermic. Therefore, they can be faster, and be active much longer, and so I think they would destroy the crocodile.

Answer 6

A shark was determined to be the winner on a show on the Animal Planet. Sorry the name escapes me but they did all these experiments and calculations and decided that since the crocodile has to return to the surface for air it was at a disadvantage.

Answer 7

I don't know what a saltwater crocodile is, so I guess the shark.

Answer 8

You forgot to mention whether the fight was on water or LAND. Crocs have legs which is an advantage on land. However, if the shark got onto a discarded Tesco trolley it found in the Basingstoke Canal it would have a height advantage.

Answer 9

Shark.

Answer 10

the crocodile, because the skin of the crocodile is harder than a shark.