Australian Saltwater Crocodile
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Australian Saltwater Crocodile
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| COMMON NAME: | Australian Saltwater Crocodile, Estuarine Crocodile. |
| LATIN NAME: | Crocodylus porosus |
| FOOD: | Crustaceans, turtles, goannas, snakes, shore and wading birds, buffalo and domestic livestock, wild boar, monkeys. |
| HABITAT: |
Brackish water around coastal areas and in rivers. However, it is also present in freshwater rivers, billabongs and swamps. |
| LOCALITY: | Northern Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vanuatu, Vietnam. |
| LENGTH: | Maximum 6-7 metres |
| BEHAVIOUR: | Saltwater crocodiles live in loosely organized social groups. They spend a lot of their time trying to keep their body temperature constant. Saltwater crocodiles are also territorial with the best territory being held by the strongest male. However, territory is usually kept through posture and vocalizations and not violence |
| DEVELOPMENT: | Breeding territories are established in freshwater areas when females reach sexual maturity at 10 to 12 years old, with males maturing later, at around 16 years old. 40 to 60 eggs are usually laid (can range from 25 to 90) in mound nests made from plant matter and mud. These are constructed between the months of November and March during the wet season - this serves to raise the eggs above the ground to help prevent losses due to flooding. Many nests are still flooded every year, however, killing all the unhatched embryos. Although the female stays near the nest, some eggs do fall foul of predators (e.g. monitor lizards, feral wild pigs in Australia) and human egg collectors. Juveniles hatch after around 90 days, although this varies with nest temperature. The female digs the neonates out of the nest when they start their characteristic chirping sounds, assisting them to the water by carrying them in her mouth. |
| DESCRIPTION: | Juveniles are normally pale tan in colour with black stripes and spots on the body and tail. The juvenile colouration persists for several years, growing progressively paler and less colourful with more indistinct bands which never completely disappear, although are rarely visible in adults except in clear water. Mature adults are generally dark, with lighter tan or grey areas. The belly is creamy yellow to white in colour, except the tail which tends to be more grey on the underside nearer the tip. Dark bands and stripes are present on the lower flanks, but do not extend onto the belly region. |
