Salt water Crocs

When I visited Australia Zoo one of the most amazing things that happened was a demonstration (for want of a better term) of feeding salt water crocodiles. I guess these are one of the most dangerous reptiles in the world, but by developing an understanding of how these creatures function the zoo handlers were able to control what happened in the show to a remarkable degree. For example, at the start of the show the crocs swam slowly up the long canals to the feeding area and then lounged around in a pond waiting for their food. One clambered out of the pond and the handler demonstrated how close you can get to one of these crocs without it leaping and grabbing you in its enormous jaws. Then a handler stood on the platform and the crocs leapt up to grab their food like a well trained dolphin. Unbelievable, but it did suggest to me that if you understand well enough how something works you can sometimes use that knowledge to make extraordinary things happen.