Some of the large muggers are definitely capable of pulling down a deer however we don't often see evidence of it. Kailash Sankhala once mentions a mugger in Chambal river getting into the water to kill a tiger. The tiger tried to avoid the mugger and went close to the bank. The Mugger attacked and the tiger swiftly killed it and threw the mugger in the bank and went away.

The tribals had btold that muggers don't attack humans and livestock in Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve. I found the muggers there to be very shy and difficult to photograph. I had got into the river for morning bath without encountering any problem.

With Salt water crocodiles it is a different story.