Hello everyone! Sophie here with this month's scaley creature, the Nile crocodile. You can probably guess by the name that this is a species that comes from the Nile River and its tributaries in Africa, but just like every other reptile on earth, some of them have already been found in Florida.
It's natural territory covers 26 different countries in Africa and it is also one of the largest of the world's 28 different crocodilian species, which also includes our native American alligator.
Nile crocs can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 1800lbs, but their average size is about 15 feet for a full-grown male. The females are a bit smaller.
They can live up to 60 years in the wild and even longer in captivity. They breed at different times of the year depending on when the dry season happens in their territory. The females will build a large nest and lay up to 80 eggs, which she will guard carefully until they hatch a few months later.
She will also stay with her babies for several more months to protect them.
All crocodilians do this and they are the only reptiles on Earth that are actually good parents. Even with mom watching after them, only about 10% of the baby crocs will survive to become adults.
That's a good thing, because the world would be overrun with huge crocodiles if they all survived.
The Nile croc's diet is mostly fish, but once they are full grown they will eat almost anything that gets near the water. This can include zebras, antelope, other crocodiles, and even porcupines.
They can eat up to half their body weight in one sitting and their stomach acid is so strong that it will digest almost anything.
The Nile crocodile is also a famous man eater and is responsible for up to 3000 attacks on humans each year in Africa. Most of these are fatal because this croc has the strongest bite force of any animal alive today, around 5000psi.
That's like having a full-size pickup truck dropped on your skull.
Even if they get you by the leg, they have about 70 sharp teeth and will pull you underwater to drown you quickly.
If you're too big to swallow whole, they will do what's called a "death roll" and spin their body around to rip you to smaller pieces. These attacks aren't as common as they used to be since the Nile crocs numbers in the wild have dropped a lot.
People have hunted them heavily and almost 3 million of them were killed over the last century, mostly for their hides which make valuable leather. There are estimated to be around 250,000 left in the wild today.
Believe it or not, it is actually legal to own a Nile crocodile as a pet in Florida, but you need a special permit from the state. There are currently 2000 adult crocs registered with the Fish and Wildlife department right now, and half of those are in zoos.
Some of these have gotten loose and several of them have been captured in the Miami area between 2009 and 2014. One of them was a known pet and was recaptured after 4 years in the local canals.
He grew a few feet in that time and was found with a belly full of largemouth bass. There have been other reported sightings but there's no evidence that Nile crocs are breeding here in the wild. Not yet at least.
The Nile croc in the photo is a full-grown male named Sobek who lives at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. We go up there for a visit every Christmas and it's one of the coolest places in the world. It's the only zoo on earth that has all 28 different species of crocodilians in captivity in one place.
You can also get much closer to them than any other zoo I've been to. Since I never wanted to have any crocodile as a pet, especially a Nile, I'm happy to go up to St. Augustine each year and check them out instead. It's definitely worth the trip.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next month with another cold-blooded creature.
Sophie Mckee
Oasis High School, Cape Coral
