The Dwarf Crocodile aka Crocodile Jr.

 The Dwarf Crocodile 

Written by: The Informative Zoologist

Researched: The Informative Zoologist

Appearance

Dwarf Crocodiles barely grow more than 6 ft in length and stay between 5 ft and 6 ft. The most giant dwarf crocodiles recorded are about 6.2 ft in length. The skin color of a dwarf crocodile is a black shade with a yellowish underside, and the scales on the croc protect it because it is hard. Their scales also protect them from the hot sun. These animals have many body features to help adapt to their habitat and life. Their tail helps the croc when in the water, propel their bodies to move in the water and their webbed toes help them "steer" themselves around the water. Dwarf Crocodiles have their eyes and nostrils on the top of their head to help them see and breathe above the water while their body is hidden in the water from their prey.

Diet

Dwarf Crocodiles are carnivorous, and their diet is mostly made up of fish, crustaceans, small birds, frogs, and toads. Rarely dwarf crocodiles will hunt small mammals. To catch their prey, they snap their jaws shut to capture it and then swallow prey. Dwarf Crocodiles replace and regrow their old teeth which are pushed out by the new ones. Dwarf Crocodiles can't chew their food so they have to break it into small pieces and then eat it. When it floods in their habitat, changes to their diet might occur like they may consume more amount of fish and aquatic animals. 

Habitat

Dwarf Crocodiles inhabit many countries in West Africa such as Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Gambia Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Dwarf Crocodiles are found in slow-moving rivers next to dense rainforests, swamps, lakes, and seasonal floodplains. Since dwarf crocodiles are semi-aquatic they spend lots of time on the land digging burrows in the river bank to rest. Dwarf Crocodiles are losing their numbers due to the loss of their habitats, deforestation, and the clearing of land for farming and agriculture. 

Reproduction

A dwarf crocodile's mating season is between May and June. One male can mate with many females and he shares his territory with them. After mating, the female builds a nest by dragging vegetation together to create a place to lay her 20 white, leathery eggs. The female uses rotting vegetation because it releases heat which warms her eggs. Females are very protective of their eggs and will chase away any predators that come near her eggs. After three months, the eggs hatch, and the young will call for their mother. She helps her young out of the nest and even rolls the unhatched eggs into her mouth and cracks the shell to help them come out. The mother carries her young in her mouth and brings them to the water and watches them carefully. Young dwarf crocodiles become very independent of their mother quickly. Some stay with their mother for a few weeks. 

Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you learned so much about dwarf crocodiles. Here is the link to my youtube channel and my fun facts video about dwarf crocodiles.

  The Informative Zoologist