Today I will be talking about the Saltwater Crocodile! If you guys thought our Florida Alligators were scary... think again! These “salties” can be found throughout northern Australia, southeast Asia, and New Guinea in swamps, rivers, estuaries, and beaches! Due to their vast array of aquatic habitats, they are more accurately referred to as Estuarine Crocodiles! Did you know every male crocodile, similar to panthers, needs their own territory? These animals are perfectly equipped for hunting, able to lye in wait for their prey holding their breath for at least an hour and then in the blink of an eye launch themselves forward with their tails made of pure muscle and bite down with the greatest bite pressure measured in any animal. The greatest length they can grow to be is 6 meters (20 feet), but they are rarely found to be this large. A mother crocodile will lay up to 50 eggs and watch over them for the 12 week incubation period. Due to excessive culling in the mid 20th century, their populations in Australia’s Northern Territory were nearly wiped out. In 1970 they were finally put on the protected species list due to the drastic decline in their populations. And as we all know, no matter how “scary” an animal may seem, it plays an important role in the environment! The best way to avoid a croc attack is to stay smart by swimming only in designated swimming areas. It should be an equal parts respect and fear for these animals!
What better way to end than with a quote from our favorite crocodile man, whose country I am currently living in which is crazy to imagine! I am also in the city of where he has caught some of his most famous crocs (Townsville, Queensland, Australia). “If you can’t excite people about wildlife, how can you convince them to love, cherish, and protect our wildlife and the environment they live in?” - Steve Irwin
Originally posted on 11 August 2019
(not my pictures)
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