13 Interesting Facts About Crocodiles

Crocodiles are the large amphibious reptiles. Crocodiles are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Their Body structure, teeth, and hunting skills by ambush are so attractive that catch millions of tourists to the pond or reservoir where they reside. To know some more, go through these some very interesting and amazing facts about Crocodiles.

Crocodile
Crocodile

image: animalstime.com

. Never Chew Despite Having Teeth

One of the most interesting facts about Crocodiles is that they have 24 very sharp teeth but they don’t chew their prey. In very rare cases they chew for only some time. They use their teeth to grab hold of, grasp and crush food and prey. Crocodiles swallow their prey most of the time. Crocodiles can gulp even stones down and can digest it easily.
source: facts.net, image: i.ytimg.com

2. Can Tail Give Such Power?

Crocodiles use their solid tail to stand upright in the water
Crocodiles use their solid tail to stand upright in the water

You will be surprised by it that the tail of Crocodiles helps more. They can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour by using their tail alone and tail can help them to swim and stand upright in water for as long as three hours. However, the same tail is not quite as powerful for them on land. Crocodiles can usually only manage short, rapid bursts of movement with their tail before they tire out.
source: facts.net, image: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

3. From Dwarf To Saltwater

Saltwater Crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
Dwarf Crocodile
Dwarf Crocodile in captivity

Size varies greatly in Crocodiles. Dwarf Crocodile is the smallest species of Crocodylidae family and Saltwater Crocodile is the largest one. Dwarf crocodiles attain a medium adult length of 1.5 m (4.9 ft), though the maximum recorded length for this species is 1.9 m (6.2 ft). Saltwater crocodile can reach length up to at least 6.30 m (20.7 ft) and possibly up to 7.0 m (23.0 ft) in length and can weigh 1,000 to 1,200 kg (2,200–2,600 lb). Females are much smaller and often do not get beyond 3 m (9.8 ft).
source: Wikipedia, image: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com, image: a-z-animals.com

4. A Magnum Heart

Unlike other animals, a Crocodiles heart behaves like a three-chambered organ, similar to other reptiles. No matter what he is doing. This is why Crocodiles can stay under water for a long time.
source: facts.net

5. Keeping Mouth Open, Why?

Crocodile with mouth open
Crocodile with mouth open

A crocodile with a mouth open and resting does not indicate aggression. This behavior can be seen during the summer months. But why? During hot days, they need to cool off. The only way they cool off is by getting the heat off their mouths. That’s the reason why they keep their mouths open. They don’t have sweat glands.
source: factslegend.org, image: media.gettyimages.com

6. Can You Differ Crocodile And Alligator?

Difference between Crocodile and Allegator
Difference between Crocodile and Alligator

Alligators and Crocodiles are almost same but there is a very subtle difference in their appearances. They have differences only in their Snout shape and Toothy grin. Alligators have wider, U-shaped snouts, whereas crocodile front ends are more pointed and V-shaped. When their snouts are shut, crocodiles look like they’re flashing a toothy grin, as the fourth tooth on each side of the lower jaw sticks out over the upper lip. For alligators, the upper jaw is wider than the lower one, so when they close their mouths, all their lower teeth are hidden.
source: livescience.com, image: randomfactoid.com

7. Can You Touch The Mouth Of Crocodile?

Man Touching mouth of Crocodile
Man Touching mouth of Crocodile

Do you know that once a crocodile closes its mouth, a human can use his bare hands to keep its mouth closed? That occurs because the muscles that help crocodiles to open their mouth or jaws are actually very weak.
source: factslegend.org, image: cdn.images.express.co.uk

8. Are Crocodiles Related To Dinosaurs?

Dinosaur(left) and Crocodile(right)
Dinosaur(left) and Crocodile(right)

One of the fascinating crocodile facts tells us about their history. The first time a crocodile-like species turned up on earth was around 240 million years ago around the same time as the dinosaur. The two are in fact related. However, the first incarnation of the crocodile was only around three feet in length and stood on two feet instead of four! We can still see a throwback to this early crocodile in their current form crocodiles have shorter forelimbs than hind limbs.
source: facts.net, image: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

9. See The Baby Crocodiles

Baby Crocodile coming out of egg
Baby Crocodile coming out of egg
Cuban Baby Crocodiles
Cuban Baby Crocodiles

Female Crocodiles lay about 20 to 80 eggs and take care of them for about 3 months. One of the most interesting facts about the baby crocodiles is that they Can Make Noises From Inside Their Eggs Before They, Hatch but more than 90% of the baby crocodiles fall prey to other predators like Hyenas, Lions, Tigers etc.
source: news.softpedia.com, image: cdn.pcwallart.com, image: a.abcnews.com

10. Never Stick Out Tongue

Due to a restrictive membrane, crocodiles can’t stick out their tongues. The membrane keeps the crocodile’s tongue attached to the roof of its mouth rather than the base. The inability to stick out their tongues differentiates crocodiles from their relatives, the alligators.
source: reference.com

11. Where Do You Live, Crocodile?

The rivers and estuaries of the rainforests are home to crocodiles. We can find crocodiles in all tropical regions such as Africa, Asia, Australia and parts of the Americas in the world. Crocodiles are cold-blooded and live in the rainforest because they don’t have the ability to generate heat internally. So they get heat from the Sun.
source: reference.com

12. Amazing Night Vision

Crocodile vision at night
Crocodile vision at night

At the night time, you’ll very often be able to spot crocodiles underwater as their eyes appear as red dots. Generally speaking, their eyesight is excellent, but it improves in the evening. However, their highly visible eyes can also make them more susceptible to getting hunted as we saw in one of our previous crocodile facts.
source: facts.net, image: blondephotos.org

13. Find Out Gender Before Birth

One of our most astonishing crocodile facts is that you can ascertain the gender of the baby crocodiles by the temperature of eggs. If the temperature of the egg in there is 88.8 Fahrenheit, a male will develop. If it is either above or below this temperature then a female crocodile will be born.
source: facts.net