The Nile crocodile has a somewhat deserved reputation as a vicious
man-eater. The proximity of much of its habitat to people means run-ins
are frequent. And its virtually indiscriminate diet means a villager
washing clothes by a riverbank might look just as tasty as a migrating
wildebeest. Firm numbers are sketchy, but estimates are that up to 200
people may die each year in the jaws of a Nile croc.
Africa's
largest crocodilian, these primordial brutes reach a maximum size of
about 20 feet (6 meters) and can weigh up to 1,650 pounds (730
kilograms). Average sizes, though, are more in the range of 16 feet (5
meters) and 500 pounds (225 kilograms). They live throughout sub-Saharan
Africa, the Nile Basin, and Madagascar in rivers, freshwater marshes,
and mangrove swamps.
The diet of the Nile crocodile is mainly
fish, but it will attack almost anything unfortunate enough to cross its
path, including zebras, small hippos, porcupines, birds, and other
crocodiles. It will also scavenge carrion, and can eat up to half its
body weight at a feeding.
One unusual characteristic of this
fearsome predator is its caring nature as a parent. Where most reptiles
lay their eggs and move on, mother and father Nile crocs ferociously
guard their nests until the eggs hatch, and they will often roll the
eggs gently in their mouths to help hatching babies emerge.
Hunted
close to extinction in the 1940s through the 1960s, local and
international protections have helped them rebound in most areas. In
some regions, though, pollution, hunting, and habitat loss have severely
depleted their numbers.
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Reptile
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 45 years (est.)
- Size:
- 16 ft (5 m)
- Weight:
- 500 lbs (225 kg)
- Group name:
- Bask (on land) or float (in water)
- Did you know?
- Mummified crocodiles and crocodile eggs have been discovered in Egyptian tombs.
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