World Croc Day – 17th June
World Croc Day – 17th June
Every year on June 17th, World Croc Day highlights the plight of endangered crocodiles. The day also encourages learning more about these amazing reptiles.
Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, America and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia, which includes the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae) among other extinct taxa.Currently there are 23 different types of crocodile species have been identified and classified in the reptile order – Crocodilia.
A crocodile’s physical traits allow it to be a successful predator. Its external morphology is a sign of its aquatic and predatory lifestyle. Its streamlined body enables it to swim swiftly, it also tucks its feet to the side while swimming, making it faster by decreasing water resistance. Crocodiles have webbed feet which, though not used to propel them through the water, allow them to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Webbed feet are an advantage in shallow water, where the animals sometimes move around by walking,Theyare also known to make journeys of several kilometres over land. Crocodiles have a palatal flap, a rigid tissue at the back of the mouth that blocks the entry of water. The palate has a special path from the nostril to the glottis that bypasses the mouth. The nostrils are closed during submergence.
Crocodiles are mostly nocturnal animals. Crocodiles are polyphyodonts; they are able to replace each of their 80 teeth up to 50 times in their 35- to 75-year lifespan.They have powerful jaws with many conical teeth. They eat insects, fish, small frogs, lizards, crustaceans and small mammals. In the first weeks of life, crocodiles eat insects, crustaceans, snails, small fishes, frogs, and tadpoles.They hunt by stealthily stalking their prey from water. Some species ambush their prey as they drink from the water’s edge or bath. Many species are able to kill and eat large mammals such as zebras, wildebeests and humans. Once it has caught its prey, a crocodile will then drag it into the water and drown it.
Presently, illegal hunting and habitat destruction are the main threats to the crocodile population.
– Source: Internet –