Outback Wrangler: Croc Swarm Facts
All About Crocodiles
- Crocodiles have three eyelids. In addition to the top and bottom eyelids, there’s a mostly transparent lid that cleans the eye and protects it when underwater.
- Crocodiles do not have any vocal chords, so noise is made by pushing air through the throat and nostrils.
- Crocodiles can judge the distance to their target very accurately – they have binocular vision.
- Once ready to ‘lunge’ a crocodile immediately starts to use its tail to literally push itself upwards out of the water.
- Crocodiles rely on the process of thermoregulation to regulate their body temperature – cooling in the water and warming in the sun. Keeping its mouth open while warming stops overheating of the brain.
- Northern Australia is home to as many as 150,000 saltwater crocodiles.
- The largest crocodile found in Australia's Northern Territory measured over 20 feet long and was found in 1974.
- Crocodiles can start life weighing less than 2 ounces, but at maturity can grow to over 2,000 pounds.
- A female crocodile lays an average of 40 to 60 eggs per season.
- It is believed that less than 1% of these eggs reach adulthood due to flooding of nests, predation and overheating.
- At 31.6 degrees, most of the hatchlings will be males. A couple of degrees above and below this, and most of the hatchlings will be females.
- Despite their name, saltwater crocodiles are found in both fresh and saltwater and have been seen in water as far as 300km (186 miles) inland.
- In the 1970s, saltwater crocodiles almost became extinct in the Northern Territory. The government introduced a law which tightly controlled hunting practices, allowing the population to regenerate.