Size: 16 feet. Weight: pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least concern. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo. Share Tweet Email. Go Further.
Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs.
Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Do they actually deserve that title? Are they misunderstood, or have they earned every bit of their reputation? They populate almost the entire continent; only northern countries can escape their beady eyes and snapping jaws.
Nile crocodiles are found anywhere with a water source. They like rivers, lakes, marshes, streams, swamps, and dams. They usually prefer wide-open spaces to smaller, more crowded ones, but they can make exceptions to survive. Sightings of Nile crocodiles north of the dam are rare. However, Nile crocodiles can live in salt water; their bodies are able to process the saline and leave them no worse for wear. Another fun fact about Nile crocodiles is that they have high levels of lactic acid in their blood.
This helps them in water environments of all kinds. They can swim underwater for 30 minutes before needing fresh oxygen, and they can remain stock-still underwater for up to two hours at a time. This helps them lie in wait as they hunt. Check out our guide to animal names in Swahili. Nile crocodiles are extremely dangerous. They also get aggressive when defending their young or competing for food. As for the kinds of food that they eat, Nile crocodiles have no natural predators in their hunting ranges, so everything is prey.
This includes humans. The two species are also comparable when it comes to things like diet, life expectancy and reproduction habits. The biggest difference is that Nile crocodiles prefer freshwater while saltwater crocodiles like their saline. This gives them a higher life expectancy than many other crocodile species that only live around 40 — 60 years. According to the Animal Aging and Longevity Database , the oldest Nile crocodile was 56 years old, but that was a creature raised in captivity.
Wild Nile crocodiles are reported to live longer. Nile crocodiles will eat anything that moves. The group also estimates that 63 percent of attacks by Nile crocodiles are deadly.
This is a larger margin than both saltwater crocodiles 25 — 50 percent and American alligators less than six percent. If you want to travel safely, I recommend a good pair of binoculars. Or maybe a decent zoom lens on your safari camera. No need to get too close and risk an incident.
Nile crocodiles are cold-blooded animals with efficient metabolisms, so they can go long periods without eating. They eat a few times per month or whenever opportunity knocks. When they do decide to indulge, Nile crocodiles can consume up to half of their body weight at a time. This meat is stored and digested very slowly. They sink underwater and wait for their prey to come and get a drink from the river or lake. They use their teeth to hold the animal still while they trash it around or drag it back to the water to drown.
Their teeth are used more as tools than weapons. Once the animal is dead, the crocodile will consume every part of it. This includes horns, hooves, claws and other items that you might assume are non-digestible. Their methods are just a little different. An obscure fact about Nile crocodiles is that they can move quickly over dry land. How fast do Nile crocodiles run? As for their hunting methods, they usually wait under trees or by dark roadsides.
Every year visitors from around the world flock to the Temple of Sobek, dedicated to the Nile god himself, in Kom Ombo. It is no secret that Egyptians loved their animal companions and took measures to have them preserved after death though you may be astounded to learn ancient Egyptians broad definition for a house pet.
To wit, mummified crocodiles are on display at the nearby museum! Whether you see a Nile Crocodile or not is predicated upon locality. Travel2Egypt offers comprehensive packages for a variety of excursions. If you know any crocodile enthusiasts itching for adventure, be their hero and share this article. Then, reward yourself! This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.
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Contact US. In the Nile, crocodile. Better safe than snacked on! Dearly departed reptiles… Mankind occasionally gets a bum rap for being irresponsible stewards yet not every mammal will endear itself to an ornery, scale, cold-blooded predator.
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