Watch: Female saltwater crocodile climbs tree at Adelaide River to escape Dominator’s bite

‘Don’t see that every day’: A saltwater crocodile climbed a tree ‘like a cat’ to escape a large aggressive male on the Adelaide River. WATCH THE VIDEO.

The moment a female crocodile scaled a tree “like a cat” to escape notorious Dominator on the Adelaide River has been captured on camera.

As the grandson of the man who founded Adelaide River Cruises, Dylan Bowman has been out on the boats since he was in nappies.

His dad, who was also a tour guide, took him out for his first trip on Adelaide River when he was three days old.

And yet, Dylan says he’s never seen a crocodile climb a tree.

Not until this week, at least, when during a river tour a female croc got too close to the infamously large and aggressive alpha male Dominator.

A female crocodile was captured climbing a tree to escape alpha male Dominator (front) on the Adelaide River. Picture: Adelaide River Cruises

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said.

“Not everyone had the same reactions, but I think everyone realised how special the moment was.

“I don’t think my grandfather or my father has ever seen something like that before.

“It’s definitely rare.”

The tour guide and manager at Adelaide River Cruises said it seemed the female panicked when she saw the Dominator swimming behind her on July 22.

Having witnessed the aggressive male rip a female saltie’s arm off last year, Dylan said her reaction was probably warranted.

A female crocodile was captured climbing a tree to escape alpha male Dominator on the Adelaide River in July 2025. Picture: Adelaide River Cruises

“If she had got too close, he definitely would have tried her,” Dylan said.

“I’ve seen him do some nasty things to the other females.

“So you can understand why she would want to get out of the way.

“It seemed to have scared her right up the tree, scared her like a cat.”

After the female managed to scamper away, Dominator was seen taking his emotions out on a nearby log instead.

Dominator is the Adelaide River’s ‘nasty boy’

The relationship between male and female crocodiles tends to be fairly aggressive.

Dylan said they tend to tolerate each other better during the Wet season when they mate, but during the Dry, the females know not to get too close to the males.

Describing Dominator as a “nasty boy”, Dylan said the heavyweight reptile was the biggest one the guides had seen.

In recent weeks, Dominator was also filmed eating a bull shark in the river.

Dominator is a very aggressive crocodile and is estimated to measure more than 6m in length.

The croc was measured at 6.2m in the latest recording according to Dylan.

“He’s probably the most aggressive croc we’ve ever seen, definitely one of the nastier ones,” he added.

“He swims up and down his territory all day, just attacking anything that gets in his way, and that includes his girlfriends.

“He’s a massive unit.”

Reflecting back on the croc-climber moment, Dylan said it was definitely one of his more memorable moments out on the water.

“You don’t see that every day,” he said.

“You never know what you’re gonna see.

“Every hour is different out on the river.”

Originally published as Watch: Female saltwater crocodile climbs tree at Adelaide River to escape Dominator’s bite