Vegetarian Crocodilians

With their scaly skin, sharp teeth, and significant size, crocodilians are some of the most feared predators on the planet. Australia’s saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles alive today, growing over 20 feet long and weighing over 2,200 pounds. Saltwater crocodiles also have the most powerful jaws of any animal alive today. While you have a bite force of a measly 150 pounds per square inch (psi), they have a bite force of 3,700 psi—enough to tear through steel! They will hunt sharks, pigs, kangaroos, buffalo—and even humans. There is no denying how deadly these dangerous predators are.

But paleontologists recently discovered that several extinct species of crocodilian were actually vegetarians.1 The teeth of herbivores (plant-eaters) look more complex than the teeth of carnivores (meat-eaters). Scientists studied 146 teeth from extinct crocodilians to determine their diets and were surprised to find that many of them ate plants. For example, when they compared the teeth of today’s carnivorous caiman (KAY-man) with the teeth of extinct crocodilian Chimaerasuchus (ky-MAIR-uh-soo-kus), they looked completely different. Chimaerasuchus had features clearly indicating a vegetarian diet. Considering the deadly predators we see in our world today, the researchers were astounded.

However, vegetarian crocodilians make perfect sense when viewed through the lens of the Bible. In Genesis 1:30-31a, at the end of Creation Week, God said:

“‘And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

In the beginning, animals only ate plants because there was no death, pain, or suffering. God would not have described the world as “very good” if animals were killing and eating each other. Unfortunately, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, all of creation became cursed, including animals (Genesis 3). That’s why we have predators like saltwater crocodiles today. But those crocodilian kinds would all have been originally vegetarian.

Penelope the American alligator enjoys a tasty watermelon.

Even today, many meat-eating crocodilians will still eat plants! For example, I know a zookeeper who takes care of two huge American alligators named Ronald and Penelope. Their favorite food is watermelon! They also love to bob for apples. And scientists have discovered that, yes, wild crocodilians will eat fruits, nuts, and veggies too!2 Their digestive systems are perfectly able to process plants. While the idea of plant-eating crocodiles may be hard to swallow, we Christians should not be surprised by this discovery. Instead, we can be reminded of God’s promise of a restored creation where:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11:6)