The crocodile is one of the deadliest predators in the world.
Unfortunately, they find themselves prey to something far more dangerous.
Hi, I’m Danielle, and you’re watching Animalogic. Crocodiles are reptilian apex predators found in
warm, tropical waters around the world. Because of this they often
clash with other apex predators, like lions. True crocodiles are a subfamily of crocodilians,
and they separated from other crocodilians, like alligators and caiman, about 55 million
years ago. They are more closely related to birds and dinosaurs than most other reptiles.
Which explains a lot. To tell a croc apart from
an alligator, just look at their snouts. Crocs have pointier, v-shaped snouts,
while gators have rounder, U-shaped ones. Also, when alligators close their mouths, their
lower jaw teeth get covered by their upper jaw. Crocodiles on the other hand, have interlocking
teeth, and when they close their jaws you can see both their upper and lower teeth.
Crocodiles range in size, from the dwarf crocodile, which measure up to 1.5 meters long,
to the giant saltwater crocodile, which can measure up to 7 meters long and weigh over a ton.
They are extremely well adapted ambush hunters, though there are some that will
chase their prey in the water and on land. On land, the some crocodile can run as fast
as 17 kilometers and hour. Though crocs are much faster in the water, and their powerful tails can
propel them up to 30 kilometers an hour. One of these adaptations are their eyes.
They sit at the top of their heads, which allow them to submerge and hide most of their body,
while still being able to see their surroundings. Their eyes are very effective at night due to a
layer of crystals behind their retinas. This is called a tapetum lucidum, and it reflects light
back into their retina, after it’s already entered their eye, giving them excellent night vision.
Their eyes also feature a nictitating membrane, which is a translucent third eyelid, that allows
them to keep their eyes open underwater. Their snout is also highly
adapted for hunting in the water. Crocodiles snouts are very sensitive,
more so than human finger tips. While they are heavily armoured,
they are covered with thousands of little dots, called dermal pressure receptors, which can
sense even the slightest change in pressure. This allows them to feel small ripples in the
water, giving them an accurate picture of their surroundings and the whereabouts of nearby prey.
But where the action really is, is their jaws. Crocodiles are all about the jaw,
and every other adaptation they have is secondary. Crocodiles have the strongest bites in the animal
kingdom. Saltwater crocodiles have been measured producing 3700 PSI of bite force - compared to
Lions, which produce 1000 PSI of bite force. This force is produced by huge muscles on
the sides of their head. In fact, crocs give some much real estate to their biting muscles,
that there's not a lot of room for the muscles that open their mouths - which are famously weak.
An adult human could keep a crocodile’s mouth shut, just by
hugging it. Which is a pretty adorable image. Crocodiles live primarily in freshwater,
though there are some species that can live brackish and estuaries. Saltwater crocodiles
are among the best suited for life in the ocean, and have salt glands that filter out the salt in
the water. Because of this, they have colonized a vast territory in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
Saltwater Crocs aside, crocodiles are one of the most gregarious reptiles in the
world. They live together in large groups - even tolerating each other’s presence whilst feeding.
Though during mating season, males will fight one another for females.
Mating season will see males below to attract females. This low pitch
sound is inaudible to humans, but can shake the ground beneath them, and when in water,
will cause the water around them to dance. Despite their fearsome reputation, crocodiles
are good parents, and will stay with their young for the first one to two years of their lives,
until they’re big enough to go out on their own. Crocodiles are incredibly dangerous.
Every year around a thousand people die from Crocodile attacks, and the vast majority of these
are saltwater crocodiles and nile crocodiles. While not as large as a saltwater croc,
Nile Crocodiles can reach up to 5 meters long, which is plenty large.
Their prey is made up of anything that they can catch - often times zebras.
But more impressively, they target wildebeest.
Nile crocodiles can live in brackish and are found along the nile river and sub-saharan
africa. Their territory crosses over with Lions, leading to some magnificent clashes.
The American Crocodile is the only croc found in North America.
It is one of the largest crocs, measuring up to 6 meters long. American crocodiles are
the second most sea-worthy crocs, which explains their vast range.
Despite that large range, like several species of crocodile, they are vulnerable.
Many species of crocodile are even critically endangered; including the Orinoco, Philippine,
Cuban, Siamese and West-African Slender-Snouted Crocodile. They all face increasing threats
from habitat degradation, damming, mining, land development, hunting, and a lot more.
Being apex predators, crocodiles are incredibly important for keeping the
balance in their ecosystem. Part of the problem is that
crocodiles can be a legitimate threat to human safety, and they look like scary monsters.
However, that doesn’t mean we should continue to push them over the edge.
The Philippine Crocodile is critically endangered,
and it’s estimated that there are only between five hundred and a thousand left in the wild.
Fortunately, there are conservation groups fighting to change that.
In Northern Luzon, in 1999, there were less than 20 known philippine crocodiles in the area,
and due to their conservation efforts, by 2010 their numbers counted over 70.
There were three main challenges at the start of the program.
The community didn’t like crocodiles, they were being killed on site, and little was
known about their biology and ecology. Through establishment of six crocodile
sanctuaries, education initiatives meant to teach locals about the crocodile’s role in
the ecosystem, and the successful release of captive bred crocodiles, the philippine
crocodile has seen a boom in numbers. As a result of these education programs,
no philippine crocodiles have been purposefully killed in the area since 2004.
Importantly, the community benefited from this conservation program, as it created
jobs and improved water supplies, which in turn improved the quality and amount of fish,
which in turn improved their diet. This relatively small conservation
effort is an inspiration. It shows us that conservation initiatives can not only
directly benefit endangered species, but the lives of humans as well.
Crocodiles have some of the most menacing and fascinating eyes in the animal kingdom,
and drawing them is a lot of fun.
If you want to bring your own crocodile eye to life, then I highly recommend you
check out How to Draw & Paint Animal Eyes in Watercolor, a course on skillshare.
The course is taught by Denise Soden, who in her career has been a zoo educator,
an animal photographer, and a wildlife water colourist - she’s pretty great.
Her unique background of wildlife education,
photography and art really makes this course shine.
In the course she will guide you through her basic process of drawing vertebrate eyes.
Then she dives into detailed demonstrations of how to draw four different animal eyes.
You’ll learn how to watercolour a cat’s eye, a peacock's eye, a lizard’s eye, and a toad’s eye.
This broad selection of interesting animals will help you build your
confidence in drawing and painting a multitude of different animal eyes.
Skillshare is full of amazing courses like this one. This online learning community is
meant for creators, and there are over 25,000 courses in everything from watercolouring,
to photography, to managing and marketing your small business.
Premium Membership gives you unlimited access, so you can join the
classes and communities that are just right for you.
If you want to support Animalogic and join more than 7 million creators learning with Skillshare,
be one of the first 500 people to follow the link
in the description to sign up for 2 months of Skillshare for free!
What animal should I talk about next? Please let me know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe
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