Crocodile Information :

Crocodiles are survivors of the dinosaur age. Back then they where much bigger, called Sarcosuchus imperator, these where about 40 feet in length and weighed up to 10 tons. Today's crocodiles are found in the warmer waters of Africa, Australia, Asia and America. A crocodile is often confused with an alligator, but we can tell them apart by the shape of there tapered snout. A crocodiles lower teeth stick out when their jaw is closed. Crocodiles, along with alligators, caiman's, and gharial's belong to a group of reptiles called crocodilians.

Habitat:

Crocodiles are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, India, South-east Asia, America and Australia. They live in habitats such as swamps, rivers, lakes and ponds. Crocodiles have special glands in there tongues that can get rid of excess salt, so they tend to live in saltwater habitats. Alligators also have these glands but they don't work as well as a crocodiles.

Diet; Food and eating habbits:

Crocodiles are carnivores. They eat pretty much anything they can get there teeth into in the water or along the banks. This includes frogs, birds, deer, pigs, wild boar, buffalo, fish or even monkeys, depending on the size of the crocodile.
 

Predators:

Crocodiles are only vulnerable to predators after birth and for the first year or two of there life. After this time they have grown into much larger animals and can defend themselves a lot easier. Once the crocodile has grown up, it can reach lengths of 18feet and weight in excess of half a ton. This makes a Crocodile incredibly dangerous to encounter for any animal. Only large animals such as Elephants or Hippos can challenge a croc and live to tell the story.
 

Social Structure:

Crocodiles have community nurseries in which one mother watches over the hatch lings of many, teaching them day to day things. Approximately only one out of ten baby crocodiles will survive to adulthood. Some male crocodiles will eat smaller crocodiles.
 

Birth, Offspring:

Female crocodiles lay there eggs in the banks of a river, lake or swamp. Some make a nest from vegetation, leaves and mud. Others simply dig a hole in the sand and lay there eggs, a bit like a turtle would. Unlike other reptiles, the parental care doesn't stop there. The nest will be guarded by the mother for up to two months until she hears the baby crocs (which are known as hatchlings) calling from inside the eggs, she will dig up the eggs and help them to hatch. She will carry some of these to the waters edge and teach them the way of life. After a few weeks have passed, the small crocodiles will split up and find there own habitat.
 

Attributes:

A crocodile can live in and out of the water. It can run at up to 15kph and swim much faster. They use there long tail to push them along at speed. A crocodile doesn't appear to have any ears but they have slits on the side of there head which lead inside to reveal a set of ears which have incredible hearing. Crocodiles can even hear baby crocs crying inside there eggs. A crocodiles bite can create 3000lbs of pressure, breaking through just about anything it bites.
 

Fun Facts:

1. 1. A crocodile can survive under water for as long as an hour.
2. 2. Crocodiles have the most highly developed brains of all reptiles.
3. 3. Crocodiles have outlived the dinosaurs.