ANIMAL: Saltwater Crocodile Crocodylus porosus Type of Animal: Crocodilian Habitat: Brackish, fresh & salt water: rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes, seas, coastal areas, mangrove forest, estuaries, creeks, streams, billabongs, deltas Location(s): E India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, SE Asia (mainland & peninsular), Philippines, New Guinea, N Australia, Palau, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands Appearance: Largest reptile in world, fairly wide snout, broad body, muscular long tail, gray/brown coloration or mix of colors w/ black spots/stripes on body/tail, huge head, yellow to white underside becoming greyer along tail, pair of ridges runs from eye along center of snout, juveniles usually pale tan but darken w/ age. Food/Diet: Mammals up to size of buffalo, fish up to size of sharks, humans, birds up to size of emus & cassowaries, reptiles up to size of smaller members of own species, amphibians, carrion, insects, crustaceans, mollusks, cephalopods Status in Wild: Stable Conservation: Breeding in farms, zoos, and aquariums. Farmed for meat/skin. Lifestyle: Solitary or loose harems of male w/ 2-7 females. Hatchlings live in groups of 40-280. Many juveniles & subadults solitary or in groups of up to 40. Additional Info: Called: Male-Bull Female-Cow Young-Hatchling Group-Float/Bask Weight: Male-440-2200 lbs Female-168-440 lbs Young-3 lbs Gestation: 2-3 months Life Span: 70 years Body Length: Male-11-20 ft Female-9-11 ft Young-3.3 ft Tail Length: Male-5.4-9.9 ft Female-4.45-6.435 ft Young-1.63 ft Main predators of adults are tigers (If tiger loses, it gets eaten; if croc loses, it gets eaten), large sharks (in fights to death) & large pythons (which avoid big males & get eaten if they lose fight w/ adult; they go for subadults more often). Subadults & juveniles eaten by adults, smaller adults eaten by larger adults. Leopards, freshwater crocs, & pythons eat subadults/juveniles. Monitors, large predatory fish, pigs, rats, wading birds, raptors, & smaller pythons eat young. Males extremely territorial often fighting to death & even eating smaller rivals. Lower nest temps produce mostly females, higher temps produce mostly males. Young leave mom at 8 months & start territorial behavior at 2.5 years. Only 1% of offspring reach their tenth birthday. Females sexually mature at 12-14 years, males at 16-17 years. Fun Fact(s): Also called estuarine croc, Indo-pacific croc, marine croc, seagoing croc, & saltie. One of most dangerous reptiles in existence, due to aggressive temperament, generalist appetite (they’ll eat anything), huge size, & territoriality. Nesting females will charge. These are the crocs the late Steve Irwin is most known for working with.
