When food is very close to it a saltwater crocodile will attack with astonishing and overwhelming speed, the crocodile is able to leap its full body length out of the water in a vertical position. After a crocodile has killed its prey it will tear its victim to pieces by violently shaking it from side to side if the victim is too large to swallow whole. The body of the victim is held above the surface of the water and torn to pieces or the crocodile will roll while holding a piece of the body. When the victim is of a large size, the arms, legs and the head can be separated from the torso.