Facts About Nile Crocodile – Freshwater Hunter

Nile crocodile is one of the three crocodile species we have in Africa. It is the second-largest crocodile in the world and the largest in Africa. Nile crocodiles are most widespread in Uganda and you find them in and out of the parks.

In Uganda, there are five parks where you can spot the Nile crocodiles. Murchison falls national park with the highest concentration of Nile crocodiles and it’s where the National Wildlife Authority brings crocodiles that pose a threat to communities, Queen Elizabeth national park, along various stretches of the Nile River and in Lake Albert and Lake Victoria among others.

Is a Nile crocodile dangerous?

Yes, they are extremely dangerous and they claim the title of the most- dangerous crocodilian since it is widely thought to be responsible for more than 300 kills of people per year. This is because they are large fearless animals with very strong bites.

Nile crocodiles can take down everything from a small rabbit to a full-sized hippopotamus. Everything is prey to Nile crocodiles including humans. This is because they have no natural predators in their hunting zones. These Nile crocodiles become more aggressive when protecting their young ones and when competing for food.

Habits and lifestyle.

Using the technique of enclosing an area of water in order to concentrate fish, the hierarchy decides on what members of the group will feed. During day time, these crocodiles sunbathe or cool off their bodies in the water if needed.

Nile crocodiles especially males are highly territorial. They do whatever it takes to defend their territories by patrolling and the territories often include some parts of the shorelines. They dive for a few minutes before coming to the surface but they can remain submerged for about 30 minutes most especially when threatened.

Diet of Nile crocodiles.

The diet is mainly fish but Nile crocodiles feed on a variety of animal species, including insects, amphibians, and land mammals such as giraffes, antelopes, buffaloes, zebras among others cross their path. They also scavenge and eat humans. Youngsters are left in marshes and backwaters feeding mainly on insects and frogs then adults move to more open water holes or river pools where they ambush mammals and birds.

• Reproduction.

Nile crocodiles are polygamous and here a male is allowed to mate with a number of females especially larger males are always successful in finding a mate. Male crocodiles usually attract females by making a wide variety of noises through bellowing, slapping their snouts in water, or blowing water off their noses.

During November-December, a female crocodile digs a hole on the water banks. 25-80 eggs are laid and incubation takes 80-90 days and incubation is done by the sun and incubation temperature determines the sex of hatchlings.

When it’s time for hatching, the female opens the hole or the nest carrying her offsprings to the water where they join other juvenile groups looked after by females. Nile crocodiles are sexually mature at 12-16 years old.

• Threats from the population.

Hunters are attracted by its skin used in the production of high-quality leather. The Nile crocodiles also being large and dangerous to human lives face aggression from the population who destruct their nests, and kill them.

Can a Nile crocodile kill a hippopotamus?

Given a chance, a crocodile would attack, kill, and feed on hippos but the chances are very few because of how dangerous hippos are. These two live next to each other in peace.

• The life span of a Nile crocodile.

Nile crocodiles are thought to live between 70-100 years. This gives them a high life expectancy than many other crocodile species.

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