Saltwater Crocodile
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ID#50
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Classification: Reptile
Endangered Status: Low Risk Habitat: Mangroves, Swamps, Estuaries, Deltas, Lagoons, and Lower Areas of rivers. When those get cold, it goes to the Ocean. The Saltwater Crocodile starts off very small, but can grow to be very, very large. It starts off less than 1 meter long and weighing under 50 lbs, but can grow to be 23 feet long, and weigh over 4,400 lbs. Has a scaled back with bumps, and a very, very long skull. (Skull lengths over 33 in have been reported) Appears to be a dark grey-blackish color. Can mimic a log when in murky water. Long, muscular tail that looks like the back, just getting smaller & ending in a point. The Saltwater Crocodile is generally a solitary animal, except in mating season. The crocodile will eat most anything that comes into its perceived territory, especially if it comes up to the water. The crocodile essentially eats whenever it is hungry. When an Animal comes up to the water that it wants to eat, it will come up from right under the water’s surface, and grab the animal's head with its strong grip, and roll over, decapitating the animal. The saltwater crocodile is not nocturnal. Mating season starts in September to October in Australia. This is when the courtship begins. Females choose nests, which are generally an area of shoreline on tidal rivers and freshwater areas. Both the mother and the father will defend the nest fiercely, if it is threatened in any way. The nest is a mound of dirt/mud and plant materials, and often measures about 69 inches long and 21 inches high. A clutch of eggs laid by a female usually contains 40 to 60 eggs, but can contain up to 90. The gender of the hatching crocodile is determined by temperature. Lower temperatures often mean a female crocodile will hatch, while higher temperatures often mean a male crocodile will hatch. The term used to describe the smaller animal is "baby crocodile." Crocodiles breed once a year. The females will protect the nest and eggs for 80 to 98 days, and assist them in hatching, by rolling the eggs in her mouth and carrying the eggs down to the water. Once they are down at the water and have hatched, the female will remain with the young for several months. An interesting fact about the Saltwater crocodile is that they often tend to treat any human in their territory as prey. Another interesting fact is that on the 19th of February, 1945 "During the Japanese retreat in the battle of Ramee Island, Saltwater Crocodiles may have been responsible for the deaths of over 400 Japanese soldiers. British soldiers encircled the swampland through which the Japanese were retreating, condemning them to a night in the mangroves, where thousands of saltwater crocodiles lived." (from EOL's Saltwater Crocodile article www.eol.org/pages/454963/overview) |