Today, we will betalking about the saltwater crocodile, the largest reptile on the Earth. Thesegiant beasts are known for being aggressive, and sometimes attack people.
First, saltwatercrocodiles are very large and bulky reptiles, which is different from other,leaner crocodile species. They are the largest of the crocodilians. They havelong, wide snouts that make up most of their head. A pair of ridges, which arelike raised, hard scales, go from the eyes up to an area near the nostrils. Thescales are oval shaped, and raised, bony plates, known as scutes, can be foundon the back. However, in saltwater crocodiles, the scutes are usually verysmall or sometimes absent. Adult crocodiles are usually muddy, dark green incolor, with some lighter tan or grey areas sometimes. The color can vary, sosome adults are paler, while others are darker and almost black. The belly iswhite or yellow. There are stripes on the sides of the crocodile, but theydon’t touch the belly. The tails are grey, and have dark bands on them.
Saltwatercrocodiles have broad diets, and do not need to eat often. Hatchlings, or veryyoung crocodiles, will eat things such as small fish, frogs, insects, andaquatic invertebrates like shrimp and crayfish. Juveniles will eat the sameanimals, but they will also eat larger animals, such as larger fish, small tomedium sized mammals, birds, and cephalopods like squids and octopuses. Assaltwater crocodiles grow larger, their diets become more varied. Adults areeven capable of killing and eating deer, cattle and buffalo, kangaroos,orangutans, tigers, and humans. Crocodiles will submerge themselves into waterand swim towards their prey, before suddenly jumping out of the water andambushing prey. They can eat small prey whole, but for larger prey, they willdo something called the “death roll”. This is when the crocodile drags preyinto the water, and rolls it around while tearing off meat to eat. Crocodiles havethe strongest bite of any living animal, since they have a lot of jaw muscle.This muscle can be seen bulging on the sides of the head. However, this muscleis only good for biting down, but not for opening its mouth. This means you cantape a crocodile’s mouth shut and it will not be able to open its mouth.
For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.