Take a dip with Smaug — The backyard saltwater stunt crocodile that intimidated Bear Grylls

Updated

Only in the Northern Territory.

This is Smaug.

Smaug is a five-metre saltwater crocodile that weighs about 550 kilograms — more than half a tonne.

Smaug is not very easily seen from above his billabong, however on rare occasions people can get much, much closer.

Smaug lives on the other side of this fence in a tropical rural Darwin suburb in the Northern Territory.

His backyard enclosure includes leafy green shrubbery, sandy banks for reptilian sunbathing and the two-metre-deep murky brown billabong.

To get to Smaug, you go down a ladder into the billabong.

Once submerged in the billabong, there is a safety briefing from Smaug's gatekeeper.

"The barrier doesn't look like much when you're under there but he can't get through it," says Adam Britton.

Adam is a crocodile researcher from Charles Darwin University who un-ironically wears the shoe brand Crocs and names his unusual pets after dragon characters from Lord Of The Rings.

Adam grew up in the United Kingdom and was fascinated by extinct dinosaurs as a child, so he eventually decided to come to Australia to study the next best thing.

The now-zoologist also studies the Territory's rare pygmy or dwarf crocodiles and has a total of eight crocodiles on his expansive property, including Smaug's three-metre-long female mate who is kept in an adjoining holding pen.

Smaug is "guesstimated" to be about 60 years old. He has lived in captivity for half his life, after being captured in the wild and brought to a Top End crocodile farm in the 1980s.

Smaug was brought to Adam's property ten years ago following a request from British broadcaster the BBC, at the time filming Life In Cold Blood, a documentary series narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

"They really wanted to get a shot of two crocodiles copulating underwater. I said: 'OK, whatever you want [but] it will be virtually impossible to film in the wild'," Adam says.

So the BBC funded Adam's backyard facility and brought in Smaug for his first starring role.

Today, Smaug and his closed-to-the-public facility attracts international film crews — many which need to film difficult underwater scenes to splice with crocodile footage from the wild — and television presenters like Jeremy Wade.

"We had Bear Grylls in here a few years ago. He was a bit of a sook to be honest," Adam says.

"He was definitely a bit apprehensive about going in with Smaug.

"Smaug is a very, very heavy crocodile. If a crocodile like this grabs you underwater, all it has to do is sink you like a stone.

"Most people who are killed by saltwater crocodiles, it's the drowning that kills you. They often don't even have to expend much energy. They just use their body weight.

"It's a sobering thought which is why people should be careful around crocodiles if they see them in the wild."

Adam believes many people don't truly appreciate this killer capacity until they dive underwater with a snorkel.

Smaug is usually waiting for his visitors when they dive under.

"He's completely cognisant of what's going on. This is the normal routine," Adam says.

"People come up to the fence and we've trained him to have basic responses. Often he gets a chicken. That's his reward. If he's really lucky, he gets a roadkill wallaby."

As you swim closer to the fence — while being careful to keep limbs away from large holes designed for underwater cameras — Smaug's frozen lockjaw comes into full view.

"He can be an intimidating creature," Adam says.

One of the eeriest things about Smaug is his tendency to not physically react to visitors — apart from casually eye-stalking potential prey as it moves around.

"This is what makes them such effective predators. Their entire physiology is based around being able to wait and be incredibly patient. They don't need a huge amount of energy or oxygen while they're waiting," Adam says.

However, an unsuspecting stone drop can get Smaug moving.

"A lot of people see crocodiles and think: 'It doesn't really do very much.' But all you have to do is demonstrate how fast they can move — the violence of it," Adam says.

"I've had someone just leap out of the water. A cameraman. He went in, got too close to the barrier and the crocodile struck at the barrier. He was straight out like a wallaby.

"It's quite a confronting experience. When you go in there, your rational mind knows there's a barrier, but the other half of your brain says, 'Get out, get out'."

However, after overcoming instinct, many billabong swimmers become almost addicted to the adrenalin of swimming with an apex predator.

"Most of the reactions we get from people are just of amazement. People go in and they have an impression in their head of what it will be like but the reality is different," Adam says.

"Nearly everybody comes up with a huge grin on their face and their eyes like dinner plates."

Smaug is also known for his grin.

"Smaug is a bit of a legend," Adam says.

"I've had producers put him in show credits because they think he's such an incredible personality.

"I always feel that if I can get people to appreciate crocodiles just a little bit more, then I've done my job. He has that effect on people. I'm pleased by that but there's a balance.

"He's also an incredibly efficient predator."

Goodbye, Smaug.

Topics: crocodile, animals, zoology, reptiles, film, human-interest, darwin-0800

First posted