Estuarine Crocodile
| Class: Reptilia:
Reptiles |
Diet: Small mammals |
| Order:
Crocodilia: Crocodiles, Alligators, Gavial |
| Size:
up to 6m (19 1/2 ft) |
| Family: Crocodylinae:
Crocodiles |
Conservation Status: Non-threatened
|
| Scientific Name: Crocodylus
porosus |
Habitat: estuaries,
coasts, mangrove swamps |
| Range:
Southeastern India through Indonesia; Northern Australia |
 The
estuarine crocodile is one of the largest and most dangerous species and
has been known to attack man. It is rapidly being exterminated since its
hide is considered the most valuable of all crocodiles' for leather. It
is now illegal to catch the estuarine crocodile in many areas, but the
population is still low. Where hunting is allowed, it is restricted, and
skin exports are controlled. The most aquatic and most marine of
all crocodile species, the estuarine crocodile spends little time on land
and swims great distances. The female lays 25 to 90 eggs in a mound of
plant debris which she scrapes together near water. She guards the eggs
for about 3 months while they incubate.
  
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