Crocodile Photography & Wildlife Encounters

A fascination that became an obsession

The last living bridge to prehistory

Crocodile photography has become one of the most distinctive parts of my travels and wildlife encounters. Crocodiles have fascinated me for years. They are not simply dangerous reptiles, but extraordinarily successful survivors whose lineage reaches deep into the age of dinosaurs. Their ancestors belonged to the Crurotarsi, a group that appeared more than 200 million years ago and once displayed a diversity far greater than the crocodilians we know today.

My travels have brought me into contact with crocodiles again and again. With every encounter, curiosity grew into fascination, and fascination eventually became something close to an obsession. Today, when I plan an expedition, the possibility of seeing, observing or photographing these remarkable animals is never far from my mind.

Godzilla Is Being Born — watching a crocodile hatch is an extraordinary contrast. A tiny animal already carries the shape, instincts and evolutionary design of a predator whose ancestors survived dramatic changes on Earth.

The Crocodile Family

Modern crocodilians include crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials. Crocodiles occur across parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Guinea and the Americas. Alligators and caimans are found mainly in the Americas, with the Chinese alligator in eastern China, while the gharial is associated with river systems of the Indian subcontinent.

Almost Like The Crocodile Hunter — after long preparation I was able to fulfil one of my dreams. Taking part in immobilising such a powerful animal remains one of my strongest wildlife memories. Fear was present, but adrenaline and the desire to test myself were stronger.

Built To Survive

Crocodilians survived because they adapted. A semi-aquatic lifestyle, armour, efficient metabolism and the ability to exploit a wide range of food sources gave them an extraordinary evolutionary advantage. Their modern form is the result of millions of years of refinement.

The Jaws — a muscular fold at the back of the mouth helps seal the throat, allowing the animal to open its jaws underwater without flooding the respiratory passages.

Teeth Made To Hold

Crocodile teeth are conical and sit in sockets. They are designed primarily to seize and hold rather than chew. Lost or damaged teeth are replaced repeatedly throughout life. The precise arrangement differs between crocodiles, alligators and gharials and is one of the ways specialists distinguish the groups.

Eye To Eye With A Reptile — underwater vision, protective membranes and excellent low-light sensitivity make crocodiles formidable ambush predators.

Why I Photograph Them

For me, crocodile photography is not simply about their appearance. What keeps drawing me back is the combination of beauty, mystery, patience and uncertainty.

Photography turns the encounter into a memory — but the moment itself always comes first.

A crocodile can remain almost motionless and then change the entire situation in a fraction of a second. That tension makes every close photographic encounter different.

Rex — natural close-up photography has always interested me because it reveals details most people never notice.

One of my favourite photographs — a caiman encountered during a night expedition in Venezuela. The animal was caught and briefly handled as part of the night search, giving me a rare opportunity to photograph it from close range. What still amazes me is the quality and clarity of the image despite how late it was and how difficult the light conditions were.

Travel, photography and my crocodile obsession have never felt like separate passions. Nobody said you have to choose only one. Sometimes the best memories come when several interests meet in one moment — an all-in-one experience. This photograph was taken during training: first a few minutes behind the camera, then it was time to focus on the crocodile and the lesson ahead. A little pleasure before the work began.

A Kiss With Consequences

It is not every day that someone gets close enough to kiss a crocodile — and it is certainly not something I would describe as a casual or harmless moment. I did it once, under controlled conditions, fully aware of how quickly the situation could change. The photograph looks almost playful, but the reality behind it was anything but. With an animal like this, a fraction of a second and one wrong movement can make all the difference.

A rare and very personal frame — close enough to make the photograph unforgettable, and dangerous enough to make sure I never forgot the respect such an animal demands.

Another crocodile enters the world. At this stage it is small, fragile and completely dependent on the protection of the nest and its mother, yet almost every feature of the future predator is already visible. Watching a hatchling emerge is a reminder that one of nature's oldest surviving designs begins life in an unexpectedly delicate form.

Cute now. Terrifying later. At this size it still looks more like a pocket-sized reptile than a future apex predator, but the equipment is already there: the eyes, the jaws, the instincts and absolutely no idea how adorable it looks. Give it time — nature will take care of the rest.

Baby Killer — small enough to look harmless, but already carrying the design of a future predator.

The Eye Of The Predator

Crocodiles have a lizard-like body shape protected by bony plates, with powerful jaws armed with teeth set deeply in sockets. The head is elongated, and the Nile crocodile is distinguished by a deeply cut mouth and massive conical teeth of unequal size. The largest teeth are clearly visible along the sides of the jaws, while the others remain partly hidden.

The eye of a crocodile — one of the most striking details of an animal whose anatomy has been refined through millions of years of evolution.

Their teeth are thecodont — set in individual sockets — and crocodiles retain a remarkably complete set throughout life. Damaged or lost teeth are continuously replaced by new ones. A Nile crocodile typically has around 28–32 teeth in the upper jaw and 32–36 in the lower jaw.

Media / Forbes

When Forbes Told The Story

Long before this page existed, Forbes wrote about the part of my life that has always been difficult to separate into neat categories: travel, photography, business, wildlife and the need to keep looking for experiences that are slightly outside the ordinary. Crocodiles naturally became part of that story — not as a stunt, but as one of the passions that kept returning from one journey to the next.

What I value most about that article is that it captured something I still believe today: passions do not have to compete with one another. Travel can lead to photography, photography can lead to wildlife, and curiosity can turn a single encounter into an obsession that stays with you for years.

Forbes article about Michał Sitek — Forbes — the beginning of a story that connected travelling, photography and a fascination with crocodiles in one feature.

Forbes feature about Michał Sitek and travel — The second part of the Forbes feature — a reminder that several passions can become one story when they are lived at the same time.

Looking back at it today, I like the fact that nothing had to be forced into a single label. Entrepreneur, traveller, photographer, wildlife enthusiast — they were never separate roles. They were simply different sides of the same curiosity.

Evolution

Survivors From Another Age

The story of crocodilians stretches far beyond the animals we see today. Their distant relatives appeared during the Triassic, when members of the Crurotarsi occupied many ecological niches. A major extinction event near the end of the Triassic eliminated much of this diversity and dinosaurs became the dominant land vertebrates.

The crocodilian line survived by adapting to safer ecological niches around rivers, lakes and wetlands. Over millions of years, armour, powerful jaws, a muscular tail and a semi-aquatic lifestyle became the foundations of an exceptionally durable design.

For me, every crocodile encounter feels like standing beside a living fragment of evolutionary history.

Large crocodile — A powerful adult crocodile — a body designed for ambush, armour and explosive movement.

Anatomy

Designed Around The Jaws

The elongated head and powerful jaws are the most obvious parts of crocodilian anatomy. Nile crocodiles carry large conical teeth of unequal size, while gharials possess long, narrow jaws filled with numerous slender teeth adapted for catching fish. A crocodile's secondary palate separates the nasal passages from the mouth, a crucial adaptation for an animal that hunts in water.

The tongue is anchored to the floor of the mouth and cannot be protruded like the tongue of many lizards. Teeth are replaced throughout life — an essential system for an animal whose teeth regularly experience enormous stresses.

Crocodile teeth — Close study of a crocodile's jaw and tooth structure.

Crocodile teeth detail — Crocodile teeth are made to grip and hold. They are not designed for chewing.

Vision & armour

Built To See Without Being Seen

The eyes and nostrils sit high on the head, allowing most of the animal to remain submerged while it watches the surface. A transparent nictitating membrane protects the eye underwater, while a reflective layer enhances low-light vision. This makes crocodiles particularly effective at dusk and at night.

The body is protected by horn-like scales and underlying bony plates known as osteoderms. The strongly flattened muscular tail provides propulsion in water, while the short, powerful legs allow surprisingly rapid bursts of movement on land.

Crocodile eye close up — Eye to eye — the moment when observation suddenly feels mutual.

Crocodile underwater — A crocodile underwater — the environment in which its body becomes most efficient.

Reproduction

Godzilla Is Being Born

All living crocodilians lay eggs. Depending on species and habitat, females build mound nests from vegetation and soil or dig chambers in sand. A clutch may contain several dozen eggs. The female guards the nest closely and can become highly aggressive toward anything approaching it.

Temperature during incubation plays a major role in determining the sex of hatchlings. When the young are ready to emerge they begin vocalising from inside the eggs. The mother opens the nest and may gently carry hatchlings in her jaws to the water. Despite this parental care, only a small proportion survive their first years.

Crocodile hatching — A crocodile begins life equipped with an egg tooth used to break the shell.

Newborn crocodile — The contrast is extraordinary: a newborn animal already unmistakably resembles the apex predator it may become.

Hunting

The Perfect Ambush Predator

Crocodiles are opportunistic predators. Young animals begin with insects and other invertebrates before moving to fish, amphibians, reptiles and larger prey. Adults can take birds and mammals, and the largest species are capable of overpowering sizeable animals at the water's edge.

Large prey may be dragged into the water and drowned. Crocodilians cannot chew in the mammalian sense, so large pieces are removed using powerful head movements and the famous rotational manoeuvre often called the death roll. Fish are normally swallowed head-first.

Aggressive crocodile — Aggression can appear suddenly. Respecting distance and reading behaviour are essential around large crocodilians.

Territory

Male Instinct

Large males establish and defend territories, particularly during the breeding season. Displays may involve slapping the water with the tail, raising the head and body, vocalising and producing bubbles or splashes. Rival males can fight violently for access to females and the best habitat.

Human attacks do occur, especially where large crocodilians and people share rivers, lakes or coastal habitats. The lesson from every serious encounter is the same: these animals are never props. They demand distance, local knowledge and respect.

Crocodile mating season — Breeding behaviour and territoriality make large males particularly impressive — and particularly unpredictable.

Water

Masters Of Two Worlds

Most crocodilians are associated with freshwater rivers, lakes and wetlands, although some species regularly enter brackish or marine environments. Saltwater crocodiles are exceptionally capable travellers and can use ocean currents to cover remarkable distances.

In water, the nostrils and ear openings can close, while circulation and metabolism adjust to diving. Crocodiles can remain submerged for extended periods, especially when resting. On warm days they often bask with the mouth open — a thermoregulatory behaviour that helps release heat.

Saltwater crocodile — one of the largest living reptiles and a species capable of long marine journeys.

Crocodylus porosus — power, patience and adaptation in one of nature's most successful predators.

Conservation

From Persecution To Protection

Crocodilians have been hunted for meat and skin and have also lost habitat through drainage, deforestation, dam construction and expanding settlement. In many regions, populations once collapsed dramatically. Protection, regulated trade and habitat management have allowed several species to recover, although others remain threatened.

Crocodile walking among ducks — The Walking Dead — while ducks wander around as if nothing unusual is happening, the crocodile calmly takes its own walk. One frame, two completely different attitudes to danger.

The reputation of crocodiles as dangerous animals makes coexistence difficult, but their survival depends on balancing human safety with the preservation of wetlands and river systems. These predators are not relics that merely survived the past; they are active parts of modern ecosystems.

Personal reflection

Why I Keep Coming Back

Crocodiles do not fascinate me simply because they can be dangerous. What keeps drawing me back is the combination of patience, instinct, strength and unpredictability. They can appear completely motionless, almost prehistoric, and then remind you instantly that they are among the most efficient predators alive.

Photography around them has taught me more about preparation and respect than bravado. The closer the encounter, the more important discipline becomes. Some photographs require a companion, local specialists and a very clear understanding of when it is time to stop moving forward.

Every encounter has to be earned. Every photograph is secondary to coming home safely.