The Amazing Animals
Reptiles: crocodilians«Back
Nile Crocodile
(Crocodylus niloticus)
Africa – Nile crocodiles are the largest of the African crocodilian species, reaching lengths of up to 16 feet, or rarely, up to 20 feet. A good-sized male weighs 1,100 pounds, and truly exceptional specimens may exceed 2,465 pounds. Nile crocodiles inhabit the lakes, rivers, freshwater swamps, brackish water and papyrus swamps of Africa. During extreme temperature conditions, they shelter themselves by digging dens with their snouts and feet. Hatchlings eat insects and small aquatic invertebrates, and quickly graduate to amphibians, reptiles and birds. But even as an adult, 70 percent of a Nile crocodile's diet is fish and other small vertebrates. Adult crocodiles can potentially eat nearly any vertebrate that comes to take a drink at the edge of the water, and these animals are known to eat zebras, young hippopotamuses, buffalo, warthogs, hyenas, baboons, antelope, giraffe, big cats such as leopards and lions, and other crocodiles. Industrial and rural expansion is shrinking and destroying the natural habitat of Nile crocodiles. Also, these animals are hunted for their body parts; their meat is eaten by the natives, and their teeth and claws are sold as souvenirs to tourists. Also, their skeletal bones are used as nutritional supplements in agriculture, and their body fat and oil are used to cure skin ulcers, burns and asthma.
American Alligator
(Alligator Mississippiensis)
USA – American alligators are the largest reptiles in North America. These animals can be distinguished from American crocodiles by their short, rounded snout and black color. Adult alligators can reach up to 18 feet in length, although the average is 13 feet. An alligator’s tail accounts for half of its length. Male alligators, or bulls, are generally larger than females. On average, the males weigh from 450 to 600 pounds. Alligators can be found in rivers, swamps, bogs, lakes, ponds, creeks, canals and bayous. They can tolerate some saltwater and so have been spotted in marshes as well. Widespread in Florida, alligators also live in southern Texas, Louisiana, and parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Alligators eat just about anything, including lizards, fish, snakes, turtles, small mammals, birds, crustaceans and even small alligators. They hunt for prey underwater and often swallow their meal whole. Female alligators build their nests in marshy areas and along shorelines. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchlings. The mother stays close to her nest to protect it, and when the young hatch and peep, the mother helps the hatchlings out of the nest and carries them in her mouth to the water.
