One study concluded that saltwater crocodiles like to surf the waves and can travel hundreds of kilometers by ‘riding’ the ocean waves. Australian researchers used underwater and satellite sensors to follow the movements of these 20 reptiles. They found that saltwater crocodiles traveled more than 10 km, but only when a current flowed in their diection of tavel.Estuarine or saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles on earth and can grow to a body length of 5.5 meters. This animal is not a good swimmer and its habitat is in sea water. Yet, their ‘home’ covers thousands of kilometers in the area of the Southeast Pasific. Researchers have long wondered how these crocodiles can spread so widely. "Of all the amazing things animals can do, the ability of certain species to migrate significant distances across formidable geographical barriers is one of the most remarkable," write the authors of the recent study.
Despite spending most of their lives in salt water, these crocodiles are not considered sea creatures because these animals depend on land to find food and drink. In a study led by Dr. Hamish Campbell of the university of Queensland, 20 saltwater crocodiles living downstream of the North Kennedy River in Queensland, North Australia, were raptured and attached to a satellite tracking device. During the study, eight crocodiles traveled across the ocean. One crocodile moved from the downstream of the river to the west coast of the York Peninsula which is 590 km in 25 days. This crocodile covered the distance by riding seasonal – waves in the Gulf of Carpentaria during the summer monsoon. This crocodile can live in sea water without eating and drinking for a long period of time. Thus, the animal travels only when the waves of the sea allow it to move in faraways places. Another crocodile spent 29 days traveling 411 km. When a crocodile arrives at one place, large waves flowed in a different direction from the animal’s destination, and thus the crocodile took refuge in one bay for four days and then continued the journey as the waves changed direction.