The maximum length of a crocodile is from head to tail. Where does the largest crocodile in the world live? The largest crocodile in captivity

Salted crocodile is the most dangerous reptile in the world. He was worshiped, he was feared at all times. "King of reptiles", "thunderstorm of all life" - all this is also said about him. Officially, the largest crocodile in the world is also he. What is special about it?

Habitat

The territory on which the reptile dominates is quite extensive. These are the coastal zones of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as the east of India, Asia, the central part of Vietnam, Indonesia, New Guinea, and the north of Australia. Due to the fact that the largest crocodile on earth is a good swimmer, it is also found in Japan and the Philippines.

It can live both in river and sea water, often competing with sharks in the ocean when looking for food.

The reptile chooses deep and quiet places. Usually these are seashores, grassy plains of estuaries or tropical savannahs.

The struggle for the best territories is constantly going on, merciless battles are far from uncommon. Losing individuals go in search of new places, and often swim out to the open sea.

External Description

The reptile got its name for the presence of two crests on its head, which start from the very eyes and stretch in a strip to the end of the muzzle. Such convex formations appear in individuals already in adulthood, they are absent in young animals.

The combed crocodile has a rather massive body, which is covered with small oval-shaped scales. Also, describing the reptile, it is worth noting a very large head with a long muzzle, a powerful and strong tail, and well-developed legs. There are five webbed fingers on the front, and only four on the back. The body of a crocodile is fully adapted to life in the water.

The jaws of the reptile are also impressive. In the mouth, small but very sharp teeth are clearly visible, bringing death to all living things. Usually there are from 54 to 68 pieces, which can change up to 100 times during a lifetime. But the muscles of the jaws are developed unequally. In particular, those responsible for opening the mouth are very weak. However, the animal does not experience any particular inconvenience from this. The muscles responsible for closing work instantly; it is impossible for someone else to forcefully open them.

Salted crocodile has excellent eyesight. Sees well both on land and in water. When immersed, the eye is automatically covered by a protective membrane. However, the most developed sense is hearing. The animal is able to recognize even a slight rustle.

The largest crocodiles in the world change their color throughout their lives. Juveniles are usually lighter, yellow-brown with almost black spots and stripes. Adult reptiles become darker, with noticeable gray and brown areas. The belly of the animal is always yellow-white or ashy.

Size and age

The parameters of this type deserve special attention. Often meets the question of what size the largest crocodiles in the world are. Answering it, it is worth noting that much depends on age, since the individual does not stop growing throughout his life.

Males are much larger than females. They can reach 7 m in length and weigh up to 1500 kg. However, they mostly grow up to 4-5.5 m with a body weight of 600-1000 kg. It is worth noting that combed crocodiles of the same size can have different weights (depending on age). So, for example, old males, occupying the best territories and having good food, will be much heavier than their young relatives.

Female reptiles are significantly smaller. In length, they reach 3.5 m with a weight of up to 500 kg.

In 2011, the largest crocodile in the world was caught in the Philippines, but died due to improper captivity. With a body weight of 1075 kg, it grew to 6.1 m.

On average, a combed crocodile lives 80-100 years. However, in our time, it is very difficult to meet an animal even older than 50 years due to its extermination by man.

Food

The reptile is a predator. The basis of its diet is fish, birds, amphibians and insects. Growing up, they already hunt deer, monkeys, wild boars, turtles, snakes. They are also attracted by livestock: cows, goats, sheep, horses and donkeys. The combed crocodile can also eat its smaller relatives, as well as animals such as tiger, buffalo and leopard. The person becomes a victim. However, the diet of a reptile is highly dependent on the area where it lives.

The world's largest crocodile goes hunting in the evening or morning twilight. Waiting for potential prey in the water. At the same time, it is practically invisible on the surface, only nostrils, eyes and a little back. The attack is always unexpected. Jumping onto land, the reptile grabs its prey, knocks it down with its tail, and together with it again goes into the reservoir. But with a large fish, the crocodile, on the contrary, goes to land.

Its jaws are so strong that it can shatter the shell of a tortoise or break the skull of a large animal. Only the largest crocodile in the world is capable of this.

The largest crocodile, however, does not know how to chew; on land, with the help of its jaws, it crushes the carcass of an animal and swallows it in parts. He can leave a large victim at the bottom of the reservoir so that it becomes soft. It is worth noting that this reptile feeds on carrion extremely rarely.

At one meal, up to a quarter of the mass of the hunter himself can be swallowed. In this case, most of it goes into fat. This feature helps to survive prolonged fasting (up to 1.5 years).

The combed crocodile itself has no enemies, with the exception of man. Its meat is edible.

reproduction

The female reaches puberty by 10 years, while growing up to 2-2.5 m, males only by 16, reaching 3.2 m in length.

Reproduction occurs during the rainy season, from March to November. The female digs a hole and lays from 20 to 90 eggs in it, then falls asleep with a mixture of earth, leaves, dirt and branches, while forming a hill of impressive size - 50 cm in height and up to 1.8 m in diameter. Every year a new nest is dug, but the breeding place does not change.

After 80-98 days, cubs are born. If the egg is constantly maintained at a temperature of 31-32 degrees, then males are born, if lower or higher, then females. All this time, the expectant mother is nearby. Little crocodiles are born all at once and begin to make sounds resembling croaking. Hearing them, the female breaks the hole and helps the offspring to get out. After that, in the teeth, he transfers everyone into the water.

The world's largest crocodile turns into a caring mother who will be with the kids in the next 1.5 years. However, only 1% of the offspring grows to adults, the rest become victims of predators.

Reaching two years, the reptile becomes completely independent and goes in search of its territory.

Crocodiles have various features that at first glance are completely unusual for this species. Here is some of them:

• On their territory, they maintain exemplary order. Crocodiles remove everything they consider superfluous from the bottom, throwing it ashore with their muzzle. They destroy the thickets, and if the reservoir becomes shallow, they dig deep enough holes.
• A reptile, like a chameleon, can change its color throughout the day. So, early in the morning, when the water and air have not yet warmed up, the animal is darker. This helps it better absorb the sun's rays. Warming up, the skin becomes lighter again.
• The largest crocodiles in the world "cry", but not at all from pity. Thus, they get rid of excess salt in the body.
• They can jump out of the water up to two meters in height.
• Being a cold-blooded creature, a reptile, with muscle tension, is able to raise body temperature by 7 degrees above ambient.
• The world's largest crocodile is resting with its mouth open - in case someone accidentally falls into it.
• His teeth are hollow, and there are always new ones inside, only a little smaller. Therefore, the change occurs imperceptibly for the animal itself.

The largest crocodile in captivity

A reptile named Classius Clay is quite famous in Australia. Lives in captivity for almost 30 years. In 2013, when the crocodile celebrated its 110th birthday, he received a 20-kilogram chicken "cake" as a gift. It is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest crocodile living in captivity and in salt water.

It is kept on one of the local farms, weighs about a ton, has reached a length of 5.48 m. According to scientists, it will live for at least another 30 years.

The difference between a crocodile and an alligator

These two reptiles are often confused. However, they have notable differences.

Alligators can only live in fresh water, because they do not know how to remove excess salt from their body, as the combed crocodile does through tears and special glands under the tongue.

There are also external differences. Crocodiles have a more elongated muzzle, while alligators have a wide, blunt end. Also, with closed jaws, the record holder has a clearly visible fourth tooth, which his closest relative does not have.

Crocodile in ancient Egypt

This reptile was revered in ancient times, it was considered a sacred animal. So, in ancient Egypt there was a god of water Sebek with the head of a crocodile. Mummified bodies of these animals have been found more than once in the caves.

Every year, young girls were sacrificed to the reptiles. And if the crocodiles accidentally ate someone, then the victim was buried with great honors.

However, often due to abundant and malnutrition, animals died due to obesity.

In the Philippines caught the largest crocodile in the world weighing over a ton and 6.4 meters in length.

According to local authorities, the predator attacked livestock and people. Locals believe that a huge crocodile could have eaten a farmer who went missing in July this year and several buffaloes south of the city of Bunawan. The Ministry of the Environment does not exclude that the predator could also be involved in the death of a 12-year-old girl in 2009.

"According to previous records of captures of wild animals, the largest crocodile was considered to be a reptile of 5.48 meters in length. This is one of the largest animals that I had to catch in the last 20 years," Josephine de Leon, an employee of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and wildlife. According to experts, the predatory reptile may be over 50 years old.

“The locals have calmed down. Of course, we cannot be sure that we caught a man-eating crocodile, as other predators live in the region,” shared Josefina de Leon.

The authorities decided not to kill the animal, but to place it in a zoo under construction in Bunwan to attract tourists.

The caught predator is a member of the combed crocodiles family, which are considered the largest crocodiles on Earth. According to scientists, representatives of this species can reach up to 7 meters in length and live for more than 100 years.

By the way, earlier the largest crocodile in the world kept in captivity was recognized crocodile Cassius from the Queensland Zoo (Australia). Just a couple of weeks ago, he was officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest crocodile in captivity. According to experts, Cassius may already be 80 years old or all 100. The length of Cassius is 5 meters 48 centimeters.

At the end of May, the world's largest crocodile named Cassius Clay celebrated his 110th birthday. The gift was a huge 20 kg chicken cake. In 2011, one of the most famous inhabitants of northern Australia was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest reptile kept in captivity.

This giant was caught 26 years ago in the wild in Australia. He instilled fear in the locals and caused a lot of inconvenience by attacking boats. He was placed with the owner of the Green Island farm in Marineland Melanesia.

But we will not start with him, but with the past champions. For example …

Length - 6 meters, Weight - 1 ton. Snapshot of 2002 in the Republic of Burundi This monster caused the death of more than 300 people.

The crocodile in the photo was shot by Steve Curl after numerous complaints from local residents.

But in the Philippines, the largest crested crocodile in the world at that time was caught. Its length was 6400 mm, and the weight was more than 1000 kg. He is almost a meter superior to his relative from the Guinness Book of Records!

The crocodile was captured in September 2011 during a three-week hunt launched after authorities suspected the giant reptile was attacking local residents. At least one person was killed and one more is missing. It took about a hundred people to pull the crocodile out of the water.

For more than half a month, the inhabitants of the town of Bunawan tried to catch the discovered giant crocodile. Repeatedly, all the bait from the meat of dogs, smoke pigs, was eaten by a colossal crocodile and freely left the prepared trap. But now, a whole detachment of hunters of thirty people managed to throw nets on him and wrap the crocodile with a metal cable.

Then this giant reptile became the main attraction of the town of Bunawan. A special water park with an area of ​​150 sq. meters.

Scientists suggest that this specimen is approximately 50 years old. He can easily take first place in the Book of Records, because now the crocodile is only 5480 mm long.

Residents of the town of Bunawan will now be able to sleep peacefully. Because, before that, the crested crocodile ate domestic animals, and besides, there are suspicions that he ate a peasant who disappeared in July.

As Cox Edwin Elord, Mayor of Bunawan, stated: “The shooting of this crocodile was not even discussed. We specifically hunted him. To show to ecotourists.

I want to remind you that crocodiles living in salt water are centenarians. Their age reaches 100 years. But, they are very vulnerable, due to hunting, for their valuable skin, especially in the Philippines.

And in 2013, the combed crocodile died. Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elord said unusually cold weather for the region may have been the cause of death.

The giant has become a tourist attraction in Bunawan. “I loved this crocodile, he brought fame to our city and the Philippines,” said Elord. An eco-park was built specifically for the crocodile, after which tourists began to come to the city. According to the mayor, the city earned about 3 million pesos ($72,000) from Lolong.

It is reported that the same, if not larger, crocodiles can be found in the vicinity of Bunavan, which can be a danger to local residents and tourists.

Now back to our living champion!

The crocodile was named after the legendary boxer Cassius Clay (real name Muhammad Ali). (Photo by SWNS):

The exact age of the crocodile is unknown, but experts estimate it to be around 110 years old. Keeper Billy Craig said that crocodiles usually change their teeth and stop doing so when they get sick and old. But Cassius' teeth are fine. This suggests that he retains good shape and can live another 30 years. (Photo by SWNS):

An interesting fact: the oldest woman who ever lived on Earth, whose dates of birth and death are precisely known, is Jeanne Louise Calment. She lived 122 years and 164 days.

Cassius Clay is not only the oldest, but also world's largest saltwater crocodile. Its body length is 5.48 meters and it weighs a whole ton. (Photo by SWNS):

In 2011, the crocodile was included in the Guinness Book of Records. True, last year Cassius briefly lost his high-profile title: his record was broken by the Philippine crocodile Lolong, whose length was as much as 6.17 meters. But the new record holder died, and Cassius again became the largest reptile. (Photo by SWNS):

Long-lived Australian giant Cassius Clay was presented with a 20kg chicken cake at the end of May for his 110th birthday. Such a gift has become big even for the largest crocodile in the world.

Cassius's diet of a kilogram of chicken and fish per day and 20 kilograms at a time seemed like a daunting task ... (Photo by SWNS):

But the crocodile destroyed the "cake" in just 30 seconds. (Photo by SWNS):

Crocodiles are the oldest and most powerful predators that appeared about 250 million years ago. They live an average of 80-100 years and have no natural enemies. (Photo by SWNS):

There is an ancient legend that a crocodile, eating prey, cries "crocodile tears". In fact, crocodiles “cry” not at all from pity, this is a protective reaction of the body, aimed at removing excess salts.

Klassius Clay, May 2013. (Photo by SWNS):

This video from 2011 shows Cassius being measured by a caretaker. To do this, the crocodile had to be lured into a small pool and forced to lie down straight.

Let me remind you a couple more record holders: and Well, here's another The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

Mom and son are walking along the sidewalk! And in front of the open sewer hatch. Son:
- Mom, look, the crocodile is flying!
- Where?
And passed by. Suddenly, a minute later, a man catches up, all in the city. no, and says:
- Hey, mother, tell your bastard that crocodiles don't fly!!!
Joke

It just seems that crocodiles are all the same: large,. In fact, among these mammals there is also a hierarchy, and it concerns their size. So, Top 10 largest crocodiles.
1

This crocodile is considered the largest among the rather small representatives of the toothy and tailed. The length of such "monsters" ranges from 6 to 7 meters, but sometimes reaches almost ten. The largest combed crocodile was caught in India 100 years ago.

2

This cutie is slightly inferior in size to the combed crocodile. He likes to huddle along the banks and, hiding his five-meter body in a swamp. It is deadly for a person, which is proved by the following fact: in Uganda, villagers caught one such “crumb”, which took 83 human lives with it into the swamp.

3

These crocodiles are also far from "kids" - their length reaches 5-6 meters. Despite the fact that the diet of the beast is represented by fish and small animals, livestock can also easily go for dinner to the Orinoco crocodile. The colossus attacks people only in case of a threat to offspring or its own life.

4

This animal lives on the Hindustan Peninsula. And although its length reaches 4-5 meters, the crocodile practically does not attack people. Only if they start making fun of his pointed face. It is afraid of a tiger or its relative, a combed crocodile, because, despite its impressive size, it can easily become their prey.

Such a cutie is united with the black "Cayenne" only by their considerable length: caimans in nature grow up to 4.7 meters. But if you feed the South American crocodile well and scratch it behind the ear, then it can stretch out to all 6 meters.

6

Another toothy evergreen beast, the length of which varies from 4 to 4.5 meters (if we talk about males). The females of the Mississippi alligator are slightly smaller - only 3 meters. However, once on the island of Marsh, which is located in Louisiana, a crocodile almost six meters long was caught. Harvest, apparently, was the year.

7

Although the name of this crocodile sounds pretty cute - "gavial", there is little charm and charm in it. Even a narrow and long muzzle is not able to smooth out the horror induced by its size, and this is as much as 5 green pimply meters.

8

Another crocodile that has chosen the Indian subcontinent as a place of residence. He has from 66 to 68 teeth, the impressions of seeing which are complemented by a wide muzzle and an impressive size: 4-5 meters. When he smiles or yawns, everyone faints or runs away.

9

The habitat of this mammal is the countries of Southeast Asia. Compared to the above crocodiles, this guy is just a baby, because adult crocodiles of this species do not grow more than 3 meters. Maximum 4, if he is not nervous and well fed.

10

Closes our list of the largest crocodiles "kids" from New Guinea. Their growth is quite small - only 3.5 meters, and then, if we talk about males. However, even such "small" dimensions make him both great and terrible, and quite dangerous for those who dare to doubt his zealous character.