Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus

CROCODILE RANCH OTJIWARONGO NAMIBIA: If you want to learn a bit about crocodiles and get close up for some nice photos of Crocs and their young, this is the place for you.

Nile Crocodile Ranch Otjiwarongo

Nile Crocodiles in Namibia

If you want to learn a bit about crocodiles and get close up for some nice photos of Crocs and their young, this is the place for you. The Otjiwarongo Croc Ranch has recently been given a face lift and the new owners are quite serious about crocs. The Ranch presently has 40 females and 6 males as breeding stock, plus plenty of satisfied growing youngsters all under 2 years of age. There's a small, but pleasant restaurant where you can relax and enjoy a traditional meal, or where the more adventurous gourmet could begin with a Crocodile Cocktail and follow on with a nice big juicy Croc Steak. Regular consignments of frozen Croc meat are shipped out to many of Namibia restaurants, and you can even buy frozen Croc Steaks at the Ranch shop.

Nile Crocodiles And The Triassic Connection:

Crocodiles are Archosaurs which means 'Ruling Reptile'. The Archosaurs were the dominant life-form during the Mesozoic Era.(250 million to 65 million years ago). The Crocodilia were a highly developed species of reptile long before the arrival of the Dinosaurs, or even flowering plants evolved. Their survival has seen them overcome the earth's on-going climate changes and cataclysms that over time has driven many other species to extinction. The Nile Crocodile, as we know it, has been around from the early Miocene Epoch (nearly 24 million years). There's still a lot we can learn from these most efficiently designed creatures. They have an unusually high resistance to infections and are able to produce within their own blood system an extremely effective and highly resistant anti-biotic.

Nile Crocodile Distribution:

The Nile Crocodile is widely distributed throughout Africa, but more so in Central and West Africa where it is estimated that about two-thirds of the continent's crocodiles live. It is thought that there are between 250,000 to 500,000 living in the wild in Africa's fresh water marshes, lakes and rivers. They can be found in: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo and DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania, Namibia , Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Nile Crocodiles usually grow to about 5 meters (16.4ft) in length. A fully mature male can weigh 700kg (1,500lb). However, there are known cases of them reaching 6 m (19.7ft) in length.

The skin of the young is quite brightly marked as can be seen below in the photos. The colours change as the juveniles reach maturity. The adult skin is scaled and grey brown in colour having yellow patches making for extremely good camouflage. They have four short legs with clawed feet. Crocodiles usually crawl, but can raise up and sprint for short bursts of up to 14 km/hr (8.7mph). The long powerful tail can propel them through water up to similar speeds, but for much longer duration. The tail is also used for steering and for 'barrel rolling' when twisting and drowning their prey. There are two rows of horney scales (ossified scutes) that run along the back and well onto the tail section where they converge forming a single row.

Crocodile's nostrils, eyes and 'ears' are situated on the top of the head which allows their bodies to be submerged, and virtually hidden, while they stealthily approach their prey undetected.

Their eyes have vertical pupils that open wide in low light allowing them to be good night-hunters. They have tear glands for cleansing and a nicitating membrane that slides over the eye for protection. Crocodiles have excellent hearing ability.

Unlike other present day reptiles, Crocodiles have an efficient four-chambered heart, similar in operation to that of mammals and birds. Their normal dive period is only for a few minutes, but when threatened they can stay submerged for 30 minutes and even up to 2 hours while going inactive which lowers their metabolism. They are cold blooded ( ectothermic ) and sun-bathe to raise their temperature and lay in shade or water to cool down.

Crocodiles are Thecodonts having between 64 to 68 conical shaped teeth. The upper jaw ( Maxilla ) has 10 frontal ( Premaxilla ) teeth and further 13 or 14 rear teeth on either side. The lower jaw ( Mandible ) has the remaining 14 or 15 teeth on either side. The 4th tooth of the lower jaw fits neatly into a 'pit' in the upper jaw and remains visible when the mouth is closed.

Their extremely strong jaws are designed for crushing, but once closed do not require much force to hold them shut. They have no tongue, instead having a gular throat pouch that when activated blocks water, so they can chew their food while submerged.

Crocodiles are thought to live to the age of about 70 years.

Crocodile Eating Habits:

Crocodiles can eat up to half of their body weight, and then go for long periods without eating. They are not too choosey about their diet which can include: amphibians, aquatic invertebrates, birds, carrion, fish, mammals, reptiles and people.

Otjiowarongo Area Attractions and Articles of Similar Interest

Of Interest: The name Crocodile, or crocodylus comes from the Greek krokodeilos. A word that literally translated: kroko = pebble, and deilos = worm, or man. Who would have guessed that a creature so big could be called a Pebble-Worm ?

The ancient Egyptians worshipped and even mummified the Nile Crocodile. They called their crocodile god Sobek.

The Australian salt-water crocodile often reaches 6 m in length and can weigh well over 2 tons.

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This subject changes over time. Verify it with current official sources before relying on it.

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