How Fast Can Crocodiles Run and Swim? Speed Facts

How fast can crocodiles run on land?

Most measured or reliably reported land speeds for crocodilians fall between about 10 and 16 km/h (6 and 10 mph). That is fast for a large reptile but slower than a human sprinter, and it lasts only a few seconds.

The most careful data come from a 2019 study led by John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College in London. The team filmed 42 animals of 15 crocodilian species moving at their own chosen speeds on land. The fastest reached 4.35 m per second, roughly 16 km/h (10 mph), and they were relatively small animals. Larger crocodilians moved with less extreme strides, consistent with athletic ability dropping steeply as body size increases.

Three ways crocodiles move on land

Crocodilians use more kinds of gait than any other living reptiles.

• Belly crawl or belly run: the body stays on the ground and the animal pushes with splayed legs while the tail swings. It is used for sliding down banks into water and can reach roughly 10 km/h (6 mph) in a panic.
• High walk: the crocodile lifts its body off the ground and walks with its legs held more upright beneath it, much like a mammal. This is the normal way to travel any distance on land.
• Gallop or bound: the front legs and back legs move in pairs, so the body springs forward in leaps. This is the fastest gait for small crocodiles and is used to flee to water.

Galloping was first studied in detail in the Australian freshwater crocodile in the 1980s. The 2019 study recorded galloping or bounding in seven species of true crocodiles, five of them for the first time, but never in alligators or caimans.

Are alligators slower than crocodiles?

Not by much, if at all. The surprising result of the 2019 study was that alligators and caimans, which never gallop, reached the same kinds of top speeds by trotting as crocodiles did by bounding. The researchers suggested that galloping might help crocodiles with quick acceleration or with escaping over rough ground, rather than giving them more top speed.

So a large American alligator and an American crocodile of similar size are both capable of short dashes. Neither is built for a long chase.

Why do crocodiles tire so quickly?

Crocodiles rely heavily on anaerobic metabolism during intense activity, meaning their muscles burn fuel without enough oxygen. This gives them powerful bursts, but lactic acid builds up quickly in the blood. After a few seconds of all-out effort they are exhausted, and full recovery can take hours.

This fits their hunting style. Crocodiles are ambush predators that wait motionless at the water’s edge and strike in a fraction of a second. A Nile crocodile grabbing a drinking antelope or zebra relies on surprise, power and its grip, not on running speed. Their land speed is mostly for escape: a crocodile startled on a bank will rush back to the water.

How fast can crocodiles swim?

In water a crocodile folds its legs against its body and drives itself forward with side-to-side sweeps of its tall, flattened tail. Burst speeds are often quoted at about 25 to 30 km/h (15 to 20 mph), but very few have been measured carefully, so treat these as estimates.

Normal swimming is much slower. Tracking studies of saltwater crocodiles in Australia found that the animals usually swim at only a few kilometers per hour. In a 2010 study, crocodiles traveling long distances along the coast timed their journeys to ride tidal currents, which let them cover more than 10 km (6 mi) a day with little effort.

The most explosive move is the lunge. With a few strong strokes of the tail a crocodile can hurl itself forward or even straight up out of the water to seize prey on a bank or branch, all in well under a second.

The zigzag myth

A widely repeated tip says you should run from a crocodile in a zigzag because it cannot turn quickly. There is no good evidence for this. Crocodiles rarely chase people on land at all, and when they do rush, it is usually for a short distance toward the water or in defense of a nest.

The sensible approach is simply to avoid the situation: stay well back from the edge of rivers, lakes and estuaries where crocodiles live, never approach or feed them, and if one is nearby, move directly away. Anyone who is injured should seek emergency medical help immediately, calling 911 in the US or 112 in Europe.

How crocodile speed compares with other animals

A crocodile’s best burst on land is roughly similar to a jogging human and far behind an Olympic sprinter at around 44 km/h (27 mph) or a pronghorn at over 80 km/h (50 mph). In the water, however, a crocodile is in its element, and few people could escape one there. That contrast explains why nearly all crocodile attacks happen in or right beside water.