A men was taking a break from work hours when he saw a young saltwater crocodile founding a dead feral pig and dragging it along the riverbank.
David White, who runs river cruises up in Far North Queensland, was out on the water in his small electric boat, just cruising around between tours. When he spotted this truly wild scene of nature in the mangroves.
Nothing unusual there, except this croc wasn’t in his own territory. He was deep in Scarface’s patch. Scarface being the big boss croc in this part of the Daintree River.
The smaller croc, Nate, didn’t seem too bothered.
He just grabbed the pig and started swimming. Seven kilometres downstream. Past Scarface’s turf, through other crocs’ zones, ignoring a female that started trailing him (probably hoping for a bite). Just steady and focused. Like he had a plan.
Nate, the sneaky croc
David’s, photographer and crocodile expert, has seen a lot on this river, but this moment stood out “He’s not the dominant male here, that’s Scarface – he is our boss crocodile. And Scarface has another boss at each end of his territory … but you’ve got this young Nate, a sneaky one, who sneaks around behind their backs, and when no one is looking he adds to the gene pool.” He witnessed a truly wild and unexpected scene: “He took it through Scarface’s territory, through another male’s territory … It was amazing.”
The thing is, crocs can’t really eat something that size right away. Their teeth aren’t made for chewing; they’re more like spikes for grabbing and holding. What they usually do is hide their food somewhere, let it soften up, then come back later to finish the job.
David figured that’s what Nate was doing, heading somewhere out of sight to stash his prize.
Not just a meal for the crocodiles
“One less feral pig,” David said when he shared the story.
Professor Euan Ritchie from the Deakin University, talked about how invasive species continue to harm Australia’s environment, pointing out that feral pigs are some of the most damaging.
That’s what makes this scene more important than it looks. Feral pigs are a serious problem in Australia. They dig up native plants, erode the soil, destroy wetlands, and go after anything they can eat. Farmers hate them too; they cost the industry more than $100 million every year.
They’re what experts call an ecological plague, and they’re everywhere. Along with carp, feral buffalo, goats, donkeys, rabbits… the list goes on. In some areas, it’s like a full zoo of non-native animals competing with local wildlife.
Even the Australian Department of the Environment has flagged it as a major conservation issue. And while there are programs to control these animals, it’s a huge job.
Which is why, when a croc like Nate takes out a pig, it’s not just a cool wildlife sighting. It’s one tiny win for the local biodiversity.
Letting Nate—and nature—do its job
No one’s saying crocodiles will fix the problem; they won’t. But they’re part of the ecosystem. They’ve been in those rivers for millions of years. And moments like this remind us how things used to work, and in some places, still do.
That day, David noticed something interesting about the crocodile’s mischievous behavior: a croc sees a pig, grabs it, and drags it all the way into enemy territory… Just nature doing its thing and having a bit of fun along the way.
Nate’s little adventure might seem like just another day on the river, playing dirty tricks without Scarface catching him. It’s a glimpse of the fight between the wild and everything trying to mess it up.