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Just before lockdown I have visited a crocodile park near Chennai and have some good learnings which I would like to share in this video.
Friends, watch this video till the end to learn some interesting facts about crocodiles which you have never heard of. Don’t forget to subscribe my channel and click the bell button to get the updates when I upload new videos like this.
Have you ever observed, a Crocodile resembles a Dinosaur?
Don’t you see they look almost the same?
Yes, Crocodiles are sometimes called ‘living fossils’ because they have been living on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs. So, you can even call them as the relatives of dinosaurs. Although they have been around for millions of years, their bodies have not changed and existed till today because they are such successful predators.
There are 14 different species of crocodiles.
Smallest species of crocodiles is the dwarf crocodiles which reach a maximum length of 6 feet and 80 kgs.
Largest species of crocodiles is the salt water crocodile which has a length of 19 feet and 1200 kgs. This is not only the largest crocodile, it is also the largest living species of reptile on earth.
Crocodiles are reptiles, which means that they are cold-blooded, are covered in dry, scaly skin, and have a backbone. They lay eggs and breath air.
Crocodiles are also carnivorous, they mostly eat food that is found in tropical climates, like fish, frogs, birds, reptiles, and other small animals. Some kinds of crocodiles can hunt larger types of animals such as deer, wild boar, and even buffalo.
Today let us talk about 11 interesting facts about Crocodiles
- A crocodile’s physical traits allow it to be a successful predator. Its streamlined body enables it to swim swiftly; it also tucks its feet to the side while swimming, making it faster by decreasing water resistance. Crocodiles have webbed feet which allow them to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Crocodiles have its eyes, ears and nose located on the top of their head which helps them to hide most of their body below the surface of the water. They may appear not to have ears, but their ears are slits on their head which can close tightly when they go underwater. They have a good night vision which helps them to hunt at night.
- The average life span of the crocodile is 25 to 35 years where saltwater crocodile lives up to 70 years while Nile crocodiles live up to 70 to 100 years.
- You will be surprised to know that crocodiles can go for a few months without food, and in extreme cases, they can go up to three years without food. They save energy by moving slow and at times by being motionless too. During extreme situations, Crocodiles appear to be shut down and live off their tissue and can live for long times without food.
- The longest crocodile captured alive was 5 meters 48 centimetres long! Size greatly varies among species, from the dwarf crocodile to the saltwater crocodile. Species of the dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus grow to an adult size of just 1.5 to 1.9 m (4.9 to 6.2 ft), whereas the saltwater crocodile can grow to sizes over 7 m (23 ft.) and weigh 1,000 kg (2,200 lb.).
- Lolong was the largest crocodile ever known in modern times. He is a saltwater crocodile measured at 6.17 m, and weighed 1,075 kg, making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail. Unfortunately, he died on 10th Feb 2013.
- Mr Freshie was a freshwater crocodile that lived to be 140 years old making him the oldest known crocodile to ever be put in captivity. He lived in a large pond, ate tasty food, and enjoyed lots of love and admiration from his keepers of Australian Zoo.
- The biggest freshwater croc ever, Sarcosuchus imperator, lived 110 million years ago and got extinct. Grew 40 feet (12 meters), and weighed up to eight metric tons (17,500 pounds).
- did you know that crocodiles can re-grow their teeth for about 50 times their life!!
- Crocodiles have the strongest bite of any animal in the world. They can bite their prey with huge force.
- Nile crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles are also the fastest of the species, those capable of reaching top speeds of up to 17 km/h. All crocodiles can only run at top speed for short distances, usually only 30-40 metres at a time.
- Crocodiles lay 10 to 60 eggs at a time. The hatchlings stay in their eggs for 55 to 110 days. They are 7 to 10 inches (17.8 to 25.4 centimetres) long when they are born and don’t mature until they are 4 to 15 years. They are only reptiles who take care of the eggs and the young ones.
Here I would like to tell about the Crocodile man, Steve Irwin. He was an Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist and conservationist. He loved animals especially crocodiles and reptiles. He tried hard to educate people about animals. He saved many animals. Unfortunately, he died due to a stingray attack.
Do you know that a person can hold crocodile mouth with bare hands!
Yes, it is because the muscles that open crocodile mouth are weak and so bare hands can stop opening its mouth. Interesting, isn’t it? But don’t try this huh!
Friends, now let us recap what we learnt today. We learnt that Crocodiles are reptiles living from the Dinosaurs age till now. we also learnt some interesting facts about crocodile’s size, life span, strengths and weaknesses.
I hope you have learnt about Crocodiles today.
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BEST THANKS
Naman