Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it provides enough energy to jumpstart the body for the day's activities.
For 16-foot crocodile Maxi, however, last Friday's breakfast was more of an ego rather than an energy boost.
Tourists at the Kakadu National Park in Australia witnessed the male saltwater creature devouring a smaller croc along Yellow Water. The massive Maxi preyed on a two-meter crocodile almost half his size. Photos were then posted to Kakadu Tourism's Facebook page with the caption: "Beauty ... AND THE BEAST. You never know what you're going to see on Yellow Water, Kakadu."
Yellow Water Cruises tour guide Nikki Davies noted: "Maxi had in his jaws the top jaw of the other croc. He'd just sunk his teeth into the brain and eyes which was horrible because we could still see it alive."
Davies also said that they initially thought the two reptiles were only fighting, but a closer look at the seemingly fighting crocs revealed Maxi brutally killing the other. This reminded Davies of the "supreme power of nature."
"I think it was about showing off who's the boss in the area," Davies added.
Maxi could have easily fed on a docile bird, but at the billabong in Yellow Water, he chose to do the more difficult task of preying on one of his kind.
"This was definitely more to do with Maxi showing his dominance, and marking his territory," Davies also said.
Another Yellow Water Cruises tour guide Chad Grosenberg, in his more than a year with Yellow Water, initially saw crocodiles to be big and lazy, normally seen at the banks sunning themselves. His perception of crocodiles changed after Maxi's show of power and dominance.
"To see something like this gives you a new found respect. You're reminded a bit of what they can actually do," Grosenberg said.
Crocodiles are cannibals and it should be no surprise what Maxi did to his mate, but this was a sight to behold as even Grosenberg witnessed such an incident for the first time.
As if to make sure he had made his mark on his territory, the billabong's Godfather Maxi paraded around the waters at sunset the same day, showing off his captured prize.
