CROCODILES
Reptile - Vertebrate - Carnivore
Reptile - Vertebrate - Carnivore
NILE CROCODILES
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SALTWATER CROCODILE
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Male: Bull
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Female: Cow
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Young: Hatchling
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CROCODILES
Crocodiles have looked the same since the time of the Dinosaurs. They are 200 million years old.
- Live in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.
- Will rest with their mouths open to keep cool as they sweat through the mouth.
- Lay their eggs in the sand and are hatched by the heat of the sun.
- Hatchlings are eaten by monitor lizards, large fish or herons within the first year of life.
- A hatchling is held gently by its mother between her jaws.
- Can mover very fast over short distances.
- Are ambush hunters.
- Are cold-blooded.
- Eat fish, birds and other animals.
- Eat stones - it is believed that these are used as ballast when diving.
- Average age is 50-60 years (some known to live to over 100 years).
- Can swim at a speed of 25 miles per hour.
- To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaw, push your thumb into its eyeball.
- Cannot stick its tongue out.
- Are colour blind.
- Can feel you swimming nearby.
- Has so much acid in its stomach, it can digest steel.
- Can grow 50 new sets of teeth in a lifetime.
- Will always grow new teeth to replace the old ones.
- Have no lips and can hold their breath for an hour.
- Only 6 out of the 22 species of crocodile are a danger to humans.
To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaw, push your thumb into its eyeball - it will let you go immediately.