What is the load carrying capacity of a crocodile or alligator?

That set is a mix of stuffed and live. The ones where there is a band around the snout are real. And the modern one of a dad placing his toddler on the back looks real (he’s an idiot), but a lot of them look stuffed, especially the one with the girl standing on its back. It looks desiccated.

I think they could carry a pretty good size. They seem to be all muscle.

Not a lot I think, based on the fact that they spend most of the time in water, and when they are on land, they mostly drag themselves along.

Some of those look very real. Some of those look really stupid, too.
I don’t live anywhere I could test this. Perhaps a fellow flutherer who lives in the South could do some first hand research for you.

somebody please test it FOR SCIENCE!

If you’ve never seen what a crocodile’s tail can do, then you have no idea how stupid it is just to band its mouth shut and think you have it somehow “tamed” or “safe”. A whipping tail could easily kill or maim a child, and those claws are nothing to sneeze at, either.

I once saw a crew of Florida Dept. of Natural Resources guys, all young men, very fit and experienced, and the care with which they treated a “little” 6’ gator that had gotten wedged under a mobile home. They weren’t taking such care to be kind to the gator; they were taking care that they didn’t get whapped by that tail or clawed by one of the feet. The first thing they did was lasso and tape the snout (while it was wedged and immobile), and after they freed it they got more careful.

The idiots who posed their children in these photos should all win Darwin Awards.

I found this information about the California Alligator Farm where the photo was taken.

@bkcunningham Thanks that’s so awesome! I had no idea such a thing ever existed.

Alligators can move over land at a rate of 17 miles per hours so they are pretty strong. I would not dare to mount one.

@bkcunningham Great link. Very interesting!

They can also drag a cow into a swamp and rip it to pieces by spinning its own body like a drill. Anyone who puts their child on the back of an alligator should be arrested.

That said, alligators are adorable aren’t they?

(Wonder if the alligators were drugged)

They are very strong and can really move fast over short distances. I would think they can carry a lot. A bunch of those are stuffed. Look at the eyes.

That pic gives a whole new meaning to ride a croc horse.

An African crocodile or alligator, or a European crocodile or alligator? ~

Aussie crocodiles are big and strong, they can take a water buffalo or brumby with no trouble at all. And their land speed for short distances is terrifying. I saw this one pulled out of a river in the NT. Believe me, it could take you for a hell of a ride if you were dumb enough to get close to it.

Riding a gator doesn’t sound like a smart thing to do, I wouldn’t let my kid or dog near one even though they are little squirts compared to crocs.