Скачать или смотреть Facts about the Crocodile

Welcome to another episode of Natural World Facts!
This fact file is all about the Crocodile in the series Reptiles and Amphibians - Enjoy :)

Brief Overview:
Crocodiles are large reptiles belonging to the crocodilian family, which also includes caimans, alligators and gharials. There are 13 different species of crocodiles, the smallest of which is the dwarf crocodile, which grows to 5 and a half feet (1.5 meters) in length and weighs around 15 pounds (7 kilograms). The largest species is the saltwater crocodile, the biggest ever found was 20 feet (6 m) long.

Appearance:
Crocodiles are well armoured with tough, scaly skin. They have a long tail and powerful limbs for pushing themselves through the water and walking on land. They are grey-green with long, slender
V-shaped snouts, which distinguish them from the alligator, who have much broader, U-shaped snouts. Another relative, the gharial, has an elongated, narrow snout.

Diet:
Crocodiles are carnivores, meaning they only eat meat. They prey on a diet of fish, mammals, birds, frogs and crustaceans. The diet of the Nile crocodile is mainly fish, but it will attack almost anything to cross its path, including zebras, small hippos, and sometimes other crocodiles. They clamp down on their prey with their massive jaws to crush it before swallowing it whole as they can’t chew their food like other animals.

Habitat:
Crocodiles can be found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia, usually near lakes, rivers, wetlands and even some saltwater areas. As they are cold blooded, they hibernate during the colder months in burrows they’ve dug out in the sides of river banks or lakes and settle in for a long sleep.

Breeding:
Crocodiles mate in January and February. Females build a nest of loose dirt in a mound by the water’s edge and lay their eggs in clutches of 35 to 50 eggs. She will bury the eggs and guard her nest fiercely. In July to August, the eggs will hatch and the female will help to carefully carry them to the water in her jaws. However she will not continue to care for her young, unlike the alligator.

Status:
The Cuban crocodile is among the world’s most threatened crocodile, listed as critically endangered on the IUCN red list of threatened species, with a population of around 4000 left. Other species, such as the American croc, are listed as vulnerable. Poaching is possibly crocodiles greatest threat, along with habitat loss.

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