Gravity-defying crocodile uses tail to leap out of water

This crocodile will go to remarkable lengths -- and heights -- for a chunk of meat.

In this amazing video from National Geographic photographer Trevor Frost, a croc launches itself out of of the water "like a torpedo," using the power of its mighty wagging tail.

A crocodile's tail is solid muscle and "a major source of power," according to the government of Australia's Northern Territory, where crocs are a serious and common danger. Its tail makes it a strong swimmer and capable of sudden lunges out of the water to capture prey. If that wasn't scary enough, these strong muscles also mean that for shorts bursts of time crocodiles can move faster on land than humans can.

(Still not sufficiently freaked? Turns out they can climb trees, too.)

There are 13 types of crocodiles, according to Live Science, the smallest of which, the dwarf crocodile, grows to about five and a half feet long. The largest crocodile ever captured, in the Philippines, measured 20 feet and four inches and weighed an estimated one ton.