Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo - Animal Fact Sheet


AMERICAN CROCODILE (Crocodylus acutus)
Range:	Coastal and estuarine shores of the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and extreme Southern Florida.
Habitat:	Prefers quiet waters of coastal mangrove swamps, rather than open bays.
Diet:	Adult crocodiles feed at night on schooling fish, crabs, birds, turtles, snakes, and small mammals. Hatchlings feed on small fish, and crustaceans.
Approx. Dimensions of Adult:	Length: males-15 feet, females 8-12 feet
Lifespan:
Reproduction:	Female crocodiles do not build a nest mound as female alligators do. Thirty-five to fifty eggs are laid in a hole dug in a sand bank. Eggs incubate for about 85 days, hatching in late July or early August. The female guards the nest and will help dig it open when the young hatch. She also may carry the newly hatched crocodiles in her mouth to the water where they are released.
The number of crocodiles in Florida has never been large, and has never approached that of alligators. Current estimates are that there are about 20-25 active crocodile nests in Florida, each representing a single breeding female. Using this figure researchers estimate a population of perhaps 400-500 individuals. By far the greatest threat to both alligators and crocodiles is habitat loss. Crocodilians need healthy productive wetlands in which to live, feed, and nest. Drainage and development have resulted in the loss of millions of acres of wetlands. Crocodiles are more sensitive to cold than are alligators as evidenced by their strictly tropical distribution. High temperatures can also be a problem, as crocodiles show stress at body temperatures above 100 degrees F. As with alligators, feeding and growth rates vary with temperature because digestion is most efficient within a certain range of body temperatures. Crocodilians often bask following feeding to warm the body and aid digestion. The American Crocodile can be identified by its pointed snout, and by the fourth tooth of the lower jaw, which is visible while the mouth is closed.