Crocodiles!

Crocodiles are reptiles that have interesting abilities, including

special features that aid them in hunting, and a unique behavior for

their reproduction. As part of a reptile group called crocodilians, and

having similar traits, crocodiles are cool reptiles. Read on to learn more

about this amazing animal.

A crocodile is a carnivore, which is an animal that only eats meat.

Crocodiles are ambush predators, so they surprise their prey before

attacking them. Crocodiles often hunt in groups so that they have a

bigger chance of catching their prey. Crocodiles eat anything they can

catch. They will eat small animals like fish, turtles, and birds, all the

way up to very big animals like wildebeest and water buffalo. (Pope,

2016) Crocodiles can sense their prey near them- even underwater!

They also have hunting strategies like the death roll and leaping out of

the water to grab prey on land. The death roll is when a crocodile grabs

its prey and rolls it into the water (Gagne, 2016), keeping it there until

it drowns. Crocodiles do seem intelligent when it comes to hunting.

A female crocodile will lay its eggs between the ages of twelve

and nineteen. She will dig a hole called a nest, and lay up to ninety eggs

inside. Then, she will cover the hole with sand, mud, and plants to hide

the eggs and keep them safe and warm. When the babies are ready to

hatch, they will squeak to tell their mother that it is time for them to

come out of their eggs. In fact, the mother will hear them squeaking!

When the babies hatch, they are slightly longer than a gummy bear and

highly vulnerable. They are vulnerable to snakes, lions, leopards, other

crocodiles, and poachers- people who illegally sell animals and their

eggs. One surprising thing is that a crocodile carries their babies in

their mouth. The crocodile will carry their babies to a body of water to

begin the very first swim of their lives. (Pope, 2016)

Crocodiles are excellent hunters and mighty mothers. However,

crocodiles need protection from poachers. There are laws in many

states that make hunting crocodiles illegal, but those rules are not

strong enough to stop poachers from hunting them. Poachers hurt adult

crocodiles by taking their skin, meat, and eggs to sell. Some crocodiles,

labeled “problem crocs,” are shot because they hurt people’s pets.

(Barr, 2012) A good way to save crocodiles is to move them to a new

place with no people, like their natural environment or an area with a

body of water. They can live safely and won’t go extinct.