Crocodiles catch bats when the bats come within reach, but the documented examples do not show that bats are a preferred or staple food. Observations from Mexico, Australia and Gabon involve different crocodile species and settings, from a bat near a river to flying foxes in a broad diet study and bats caught inside a cave.
Why do crocodiles hunt bats?
Because bats sometimes become accessible prey near crocodiles. A 2014 natural-history note describes a young Morelet’s crocodile near the Río Hondo holding a bat; the authors proposed that the bat may have flown low to drink. Other records involve estuarine crocodiles feeding on flying foxes in Australia and cave-dwelling dwarf crocodiles catching bats in Gabon. These are examples of opportunistic feeding, not evidence of a general bat-hunting specialization.
What are the documented examples?
Mexico and Belize: a bat near the water
Cedeño-Vázquez and coauthors reported finding a 32-centimeter, 130-gram yearling Morelet’s crocodile with an adult Mexican greater funnel-eared bat near the Río Hondo on 18 April 2013. The authors described it as the first documented case, to their knowledge, of bats as prey for Crocodylus moreletii. They had commonly seen bats flying above the water during spotlight surveys and suggested this bat likely came low to drink before being caught. That explanation applies to this encounter; it does not establish a standard crocodile hunting tactic. Read the 2014 natural-history note.
Australia: flying foxes within a varied diet
A 2018 peer-reviewed study of estuarine crocodiles in Kakadu National Park reported direct observations of the crocodiles eating flying foxes (Pteropus sp.). The study also describes a broad, variable diet that includes terrestrial mammals, snakes, birds, riverine prey and marine prey. It establishes that flying foxes can be among the prey in this region, but does not estimate how often crocodiles eat bats. See the PLOS ONE study.
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Gabon: bats caught by cave-dwelling dwarf crocodiles
A Live Science report published 1 October 2026 says footage made for National Geographic’s Africa: Earth’s Wild Home shows cave-dwelling dwarf crocodiles snatching bats. The report says researchers already knew the crocodiles ate bats and insects; the footage showed how they caught prey. Conservation ecologist Matt Shirley, quoted in the report, said: “I’ve been working with this population for almost 15 or 16 years now, and that’s something we’ve never been able to see.” His comment concerns seeing the behavior, not discovering that bats were part of the crocodiles’ food. Read the Live Science report.
Are bats a normal or preferred part of crocodile diets?
Bats are documented prey in particular locations, but the sources do not quantify how common they are across crocodile diets or establish a preference. The Kakadu study places flying foxes among many kinds of prey rather than identifying them as a defining food source. For context, the study authors estimated introduced pigs and water buffalo together could contribute 53–84% of nutrition for the sampled Kakadu crocodiles; that figure concerns those two prey types in that study, not bats.
Do crocodiles leap out of the water to catch bats?
The cited examples do not establish leaping as the usual or universal method. The Mexico–Belize authors proposed a low-flying bat near the water as a possible explanation for one capture, while the Gabon report describes footage of bats being caught in a cave. Neither supports a claim that all crocodiles, or even these populations generally, use the same tactic.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can these examples tell us—and what can’t they?
They show that crocodiles can take bats when circumstances bring them within reach. They do not provide a controlled comparison of hunting methods or tell us which crocodile species catches bats most often. The records differ in species, geography, habitat and evidence: a published natural-history observation in Mexico and Belize, direct feeding observations within a Kakadu diet study, and documentary footage described in news coverage from Gabon.
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