Nile Crocodile

 

Nile Crocodile Description

You can’t miss the enormous size of the Nile Crocodile as it can be more than 17 feet long. The males are the largest but the females are still quite large. The males can be about 1,000 pounds or more. Sometimes they can be found up to 2,000 pounds but there are only a handful of them that actually fall into that particular category.

Nile Crocodile Anatomy

The body of this crocodile is covered with dark skin that is very scaly. This very skin is a reason why they are heavily hunted to make leather goods from. They have a very long tail that has amazing power behind it. They have powerful jaws that can clamp down on prey with no mercy. They also have sharp teeth that will continue replace themselves throughout their life span. This is part of the reason why they can easily live from 70 to 100 years.

The appendages of the Nile Crocodile are very short and they grow outward. This design offers them very little in the way of resistance in the water. At the same time it gives them plenty of speed. Their anatomy though isn’t one that works very well for them on land. They have to scoot along on their belly which can take up lots of energy.

Nile Crocodile Evolution

The lack of evolution is what is really quite interesting when it comes to the Nile Crocodile. In fact, they continue to do very well with the same body design that they have featured for millions of years. There is no evidence to suggest any types of huge changes in their body design have ever occurred. This is very different than what experts believed have occurred with so many other types of animals out there.

Nile Crocodile Behavior

The intelligence of the Nile Crocodile is fascinating as well. Experts have conducted a variety of tests and found that they learn faster than rats in many instances. They are able to memorize and to problem solve which helps them to adapt to their environment. They don’t seem to mind being placed in captivity either which makes it even easier to observe them.

They are aggressive though and that can make it challenging to successfully observe them and to conduct tests. It is believed that that they carefully study the behaviors of others animals around them. They also do so with villagers that are around them. They use this information to determine what they will do when it comes to attacking their prey.

Nile Crocodile Habitat and Distribution

The Nile Crocodile is native to Asia, India, and Australia. Did you know that they can also live in bodies of freshwater? Many people assume they only live in the saltwater. This is due to their name and also to the fact that you will find most of them there. However, as the territory for these animals continues to get smaller more of them are moving into the freshwater habitats.

The older ones have already established their own territory and they aren’t willing to share it. Younger Nile Crocodiles rely on their instincts for survival to get them to a place they can call their own. As long as that freshwater habitat offers them the warmth that they need, land to place their eggs, and enough food to survive on they will do just fine.

As they get larger though and want to mate with more females, many of the males will move into the saltwater territories. They will aggressively challenge other males both for mating rights and for that territory.

Nile Crocodile Feeding Habits

What the Nile Crocodile consumes depends on the size of it. There are three main stages that it goes through. As a youngling it will have to rely on insects, frogs, and small fish. As they get larger they can consume small mammals and larger fish. Fully grown they can consume very large mammals as well as all of the other food groups. As a result they are able to thrive because there should always be some type of food for them.

They don’t mess around at all when it comes to food. They will take on sharks that are several times larger than they are. They are also believed to consume more humans than any other type of reptile out there. Many villagers end up dying at the hands of these animals. Many that simply disappear are believed to have met such a fate.

Nile Crocodile Reproduction

These animals don’t mate until they are older – 10 years for the females and 16 for the males on average. When it is time for mating the males first have to fight off each other. They will come into various territories in order to be able to find females that are around. They usually don’t physically fight each other but they will engage in challenging standoffs that can last for several hours before one of them gives up.

The females have a very difficult task after mating. Even though moving around on land is hard for them they must do it. The land is where they can create a nest to put the 40 to 60 eggs into. She will use mud, sticks, and other elements of her natural environment to be able to create that nest. She will stay around to protect it as much as she can.

When she has to go to the water to find food predators may try to access her eggs. She will do all she can to prevent that. It can be 90 days before she hears her young trying to get out of their shells. She will help to crack them and then carry her offspring to the water in her mouth.

Nile Crocodile Predators

Extremely large numbers of the young are killed by predators such as birds and turtles early on. If the female has 50 young she will be lucky is 3 of them survive to the age of maturity. Sometimes other Nile Crocodiles will even consume the young when they are in the water.

As these crocodiles get larger though they are less likely to have any problems with other animals out there. However, that is when they will start to experience even more problems with humans. They are often hunted to reduce their level of aggression towards humans. They are also hunted so that people can have some source of meat out there from these animals. It is said to have a very good taste to it.

More of them are hunted for the value of their skins than anything else. These skins are sold for a good profit in order for various types of leather goods to be created from them. There is a huge market for products made from leather so those that do such hunting always know they can make money from their efforts.

There are individuals that do hunt them to be able to say they have successfully killed one of the largest reptiles in the world. They go on guided hunts to areas where these animals are known to live. Many villagers are willing to lead such expeditions in exchange for money and for goods. The Nile Crocodile still has good population numbers in spite of the hunting efforts out there.

 

Nile Crocodile Related Articles

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