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THERE ARE A LOT OF MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS OUT THERE ABOUT CROCODILIANS, THE ORDER TO WHICH BOTH ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES BELONG. EVOLVING AROUND 200 MILLION YEARS IN THE MESOZOIC EPOCH, CROCODILES HAVE FAR OUTLIVED THE DINOSAURS.
LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS EXTRAORDINARY ANCIENT PREDATOR LIVING IN A MODERN WORLD.
Today’s crocodilians are often said to be survivors from the age of dinosaurs. That’s true as far as it goes – modern crocodiles have been around for some 80 million years. But they’re only a small sampling of the crocodilian relatives that once roamed the planet—and, in fact, once ruled it. The prehistoric ancestors of crocodiles were much bigger than today’s counterparts such as the 20m deinosuchus.
Crocodile “language” is so perfect that for the last 70 million years it hasn’t changed much.
There are four species found in Africa. The Nile Crocodile, the Slender Snouted Crocodile, the Dwarf Crocodile and the Pygmy Crocodile.
Saltwater Crocodiles are the biggest reptiles in the world They can live between 80 – 100 years, grow up to 6.17m (20ft 3inch) and weigh more than a ton.
Dwarf Crocodiles are the smallest species of crocodilan at an average size of 1,5m (4ft 9inch).
THE SALTWATER CROCODILE HAS THE STRONGEST BITE EVER MEASURED AT 3,700 POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH (PSI)OR 16,460 NEWTONS OF BITE FORCE – A BITE THAT RIVALS THE BITE OF A T-REX.
Lolong was the largest crocodile in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile measured at 6,17m (20ft 3inches) and weighed 1,075 kg, making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail. Suspected of attacking several people and killing two, the giant reptile was captured alive in the Philippines’ Bunawan township.
Gustave is likely the most feared Nile crocodile ever. He was notorious for being a man-eater and was rumored to have killed as many as 300 people from the banks of the Ruzizi River and the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. Gustave evaded all attempts at capture over many years and has since been reported dead at approx 100 years of age.
Myth – crocodiles can run as a fast a racehorse. This is simply not true – a crocodile can reach a max speed of 19km/h (12mph) on land for a short distance only.
Crocodiles are not stupid. They have relatively small brains, but, just like in birds, these brains are organized very differently from mammalian brains: their volume is utilized more efficiently. These animals are smart and have very complex behavior, instinctive and learned. They use a sophisticated, flexible communication system. It is a combination of sounds, infrasound, chemical and visual signals, produced by unusual and still poorly understood physical mechanisms. This system can be easily optimized to work in a broad variety of habitats, from overgrown marshes to flooded forests.
They are deadly hunters, second only to humans in versatility. Their hunting techniques are only partially known, but we have found that they can hunt as effectively on land as underwater, cooperate with each other (for example, chase prey into an ambush, or form a chain to drive schools of fish into shallows), and use lures. Crocodiles that live near egret rookeries often float with little sticks on their snouts during the birds’ nest-building season. If an egret looking for building material tries to pick up the stick, it promptly gets snatched.
A crocodiles top swimming speed is 15 km/h (9.3 mph).
To shed crocodile tears is to show insincere remorse. This expression comes from the fact that crocodiles actually do cry. These tears contain proteins and minerals. The tears help keep the eye clean and lubricate the nictitating membrane, the translucent extra eyelid!
They are not strictly predatory they can eat fruit and even be important seed dispersers for some tree species.
The crocodiles’ natural predators include baboons, hyenas, monitor lizards and mongoose who feed on the eggs and large herons, kites, fish eagles, ibis, hammerkops, crows, storks and monitor lizards who prey on the hatchlings. The biggest predator of all is man.
Crocodiles have a hierarchical social system with the largest and heaviest males are at the top having access to the best basking site, while females are priority during a group feeding of a big kill or carcass.
Myth – Crocodiles do not eat their own hatchlings.
They are excellent parents. In some species both mother and father protect and feed the brood; in others multiple females bring their babies together into a crèche and take turns watching over it. A large territorial male will have around 5 or 6 females and will return to the same nest for breeding every year.
Crocodile breeding season in Zambia typically starts in June with courting, mating in July and egg-laying in August. The average clutch is 45 eggs but this ranges between 18-80 depending on the size of the female. The eggs are incubated at around 28-34 deg celcius and the hatchlings appear between November and January.
Crocodiles carry their babies in their mouth. Baby crocodiles can make noises from inside the egg before they hatch and when the mother hears it, she digs them up and takes the hatchling to the water in her mouth.
99% of baby crocodiles do not survive the first year in the wild due to natural predators.
