It would have been glad to have one of us for dinner. Crocodiles eat hundreds of people in Africa every year. But we were safely ensconced on our boat. This was the first of several crocodiles we would see on our African safari through Botswana and Zimbabwe, including a monster.
Nile Crocodiles are fascinating, fierce predators. You don’t want to mess with them. We were able to see them lying on the shores of rivers, lakes and ponds, slipping through the water, and even fighting. There is nothing endangered about them; they are quite common throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Large males can reach a length of 14 feet and weigh up to 1700 pounds. Females up to 12 feet and 550 pounds.
By the way, have you ever used or heard the expression ‘shedding crocodile tears?’ It means you are being insincere. The derivative? Crocodiles shed tears when they are eating whatever they have captured for dinner.
This is the crocodile I featured above, enjoying the sun on the banks of the Chobe River. A dead Cape buffalo that it may have been helping devour was behind it. (Not in the photo.)Not quite what I would classify as a toothy grin. Here’s an interesting fact. Crocodiles can go through 4000 teeth in a lifetime. They are able to replace each of their 80 teeth up to 50 times.This youngster from Chobe National Park that I featured before shows just how many teeth a crocodile has in its mouth. The purpose wasn’t to show us its teeth, however, its mouth was open to help it cool down. It’s called mouth gaping.We found this monster in Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. It was probably guarding a clutch of 25-80 eggs. The female digs a hole in the sand and buries the eggs where they will incubate for 80-90 days. She can actually hear them peep when they are ready to hatch. She then digs them up and rolls them around in her mouth to help them hatch. The male may help in this process. They then carry them down to the water where they continue to guard them, ferociously, if necessary.Swimming in Lake Kariba is highly discouraged. A possible confrontation was about to take place here in the lake. Males are very territorial. I thought the water level perspective on the two crocodiles was interesting.We were at a small watering hole in Hwange National Park admiring giraffes when the water in the pond suddenly erupted. It was impossible to tell what was making all of the ruckus.And then it became obvious. Two crocodiles were biting it out! “One of the crocodiles took down a Kudu earlier today,” our guide explained to us. “It is protecting its kill.”We saw a number of crocodiles on an evening trip up the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, including this one. Peggy thought it was quite colorful. And toothy. Another interesting fact about crocodiles is they have very weak jaw muscles for opening their mouths. You could hold this fellow’s mouth closed with one hand. Closing is something else. A crocodile has one of the strongest bites of any creature in the world and is capable of exerting up to 5000 pounds of pressure per square inch! I’m thinking that this is something one might want to consider when deciding to experiment with holding its mouth closed.The colorful tail of the crocodile above. A crocodile uses its tail to propel itself through the water at up to 22 miles per hour. The feet serve as rudders.Another tail shot of a different crocodile on the Zambezi River.We thought this was a fun shot of a crocodile sleeping on the banks of the river.I’ll conclude with this final head shot. You won’t want to miss Monday’s post on the ostriches and penguins of South Africa.
26 thoughts on “Shedding Crocodile Tears and Other Crocodile Facts… On Safari —13”
We often have ten-foot long alligators, and a few fourteen footers have been bagged, but these seem to have more girth than a gator, too. There are plenty of similarities, but I’m more comfortable around the gators than I think I ever would be around these. They’re a good argument for staying out of the water.
Good idea about being more wary of crocodiles, Linda. They definitely have a different attitude about eating people. Peggy and I just saw a giant alligator in the Everglades doing its bellow bit, however. We made sure to stay far away!
Oh man just hearing this is enough for me Curt “Crocodiles eat hundreds of people in Africa every year. ” My dad was joking he would push me in and holding me over the crocs on the jungle cruise in Disneyland and that was terrifying as a 5 year old. Hows that ground camping going. boo! lol I know you’re crock free but I don’t want to find you on a pair of shoes❣️🥹😹
❤️😹😹❤️
I can imagine a 5-year-old would be terrified of being fed to crocodiles. Even in Disneyland! The clamping was great, much more civilized than my usual mode of sleeping outdoors. Good question: People wear crocodile shoes. Do crocs wear human shoes? 🤪
Wholly molly.. I still have nightmares.. 🥹. Oh so great to hear.. it’s pouring here so those are my visions. Hahahaha.. one can only surpise😹
Curt, if you are still in the Everglades, the American crocodile is making a comeback in the streams and canals that cool water from a Florida Electric Power plant. Unlike their cousins, these guys were endangered but are now threatened.
We did see some American crocodiles in the Thousand Island section of the Everglades outside of Everglade City, Ray. We are now back in Safety Harbor and will begin our journey back north today. I forget where you lived in Florida?
We were in Cape Coral about an hour north of Naples and a couple hours south of Safety Harbor.
They are truly ugly but fascinating also! Long ago, when my son was 7, my dad gave him a stuffed caiman that smelled horrible but Corey had to sleep with…I thought that I could smell it’s aroma throughout the house so the fierce thing was put outside for entertainment. Again, your journey is fabulous!
The snouts of those big ones look like lava. Your photography is really showing us what they look like. Tail segments, for example, are rigid and varied with texture and colour like I never imagined. And such a tempting bit of trivia, to know that you could hold their mouth closed with one hand, but for a hundred reasons that is the last thing you should do. 🙂
Curt, as you may remember we lived on the banks of the Nile for a couple of years, and we’ve always had a healthy respect for crocs. They look incredibly lethargic, but as your photos show, they are anything but. In Sudan, my company had a large crew working in the desert, but before coming to work for us they were in South Sudan. One of the crew members was sitting waist deep in a stream bathing when a croc took him. What a horrible way to die. ~James
They are such frightening ugly prehistoric creatures; dinosaurs really. I’ve seen a few on various trips in Australia, including a new born on a remote path in the Northern Territory. I look back at that encounter and can only assume the gods were smiling on us that we didn’t become croc dinner.
Alison
Those are huge animals, and it’s terrifying to think about all the people who are killed by them every year. The teeth replacement statistics have some bite to them (hehe). And I never knew that “crocodile tears” are a real thing. Finally, I love the last photos of the sleeping crock. Put some wings on him, and you have the perfect dragon. 🙂 I love these, shares. Thanks to you both for the photos.
The boats took us as close to them as I would ever want to get, D. My telephoto did the rest.
Lots and lots of bite. Grin. Perfect dragon, eh? I wonder if they played a part in people’s imaginations when creating dragons. And thank you. Peggy and I both appreciate having a means to share.
Wandering through Time and Place 
We often have ten-foot long alligators, and a few fourteen footers have been bagged, but these seem to have more girth than a gator, too. There are plenty of similarities, but I’m more comfortable around the gators than I think I ever would be around these. They’re a good argument for staying out of the water.
Good idea about being more wary of crocodiles, Linda. They definitely have a different attitude about eating people. Peggy and I just saw a giant alligator in the Everglades doing its bellow bit, however. We made sure to stay far away!
Oh man just hearing this is enough for me Curt “Crocodiles eat hundreds of people in Africa every year. ” My dad was joking he would push me in and holding me over the crocs on the jungle cruise in Disneyland and that was terrifying as a 5 year old. Hows that ground camping going. boo! lol I know you’re crock free but I don’t want to find you on a pair of shoes❣️🥹😹
❤️😹😹❤️
I can imagine a 5-year-old would be terrified of being fed to crocodiles. Even in Disneyland! The clamping was great, much more civilized than my usual mode of sleeping outdoors. Good question: People wear crocodile shoes. Do crocs wear human shoes? 🤪
Wholly molly.. I still have nightmares.. 🥹. Oh so great to hear.. it’s pouring here so those are my visions. Hahahaha.. one can only surpise😹
Curt, if you are still in the Everglades, the American crocodile is making a comeback in the streams and canals that cool water from a Florida Electric Power plant. Unlike their cousins, these guys were endangered but are now threatened.
We did see some American crocodiles in the Thousand Island section of the Everglades outside of Everglade City, Ray. We are now back in Safety Harbor and will begin our journey back north today. I forget where you lived in Florida?
We were in Cape Coral about an hour north of Naples and a couple hours south of Safety Harbor.
They are truly ugly but fascinating also! Long ago, when my son was 7, my dad gave him a stuffed caiman that smelled horrible but Corey had to sleep with…I thought that I could smell it’s aroma throughout the house so the fierce thing was put outside for entertainment. Again, your journey is fabulous!
Thanks Wendy. Was your son banned to the outdoors as well? Grin.
I would definitely give them a wide berth. Just way too gnarly fro me!
Laughing Arati, about as gnarly as it gets!
Yeah
“Never Smile at a Crocodile” Ugly critters aren’t they.
Sound advice, Andrew. ‘You show me your teeth and I’ll show you mine. Come a little close, please.’
Did they have a petting zoo?
Laughing.
The snouts of those big ones look like lava. Your photography is really showing us what they look like. Tail segments, for example, are rigid and varied with texture and colour like I never imagined. And such a tempting bit of trivia, to know that you could hold their mouth closed with one hand, but for a hundred reasons that is the last thing you should do. 🙂
They look like something right out of the Jurassic era, Crystal.
Or at least 80… one for each of their teeth. 😳
I had forgotten about them going through so many teeth. Thanks.
Think of how much we could save in dental bills, Peggy, if we always had a backup tooth ready to replace one that had gone bad!
Curt, as you may remember we lived on the banks of the Nile for a couple of years, and we’ve always had a healthy respect for crocs. They look incredibly lethargic, but as your photos show, they are anything but. In Sudan, my company had a large crew working in the desert, but before coming to work for us they were in South Sudan. One of the crew members was sitting waist deep in a stream bathing when a croc took him. What a horrible way to die. ~James
They are such frightening ugly prehistoric creatures; dinosaurs really. I’ve seen a few on various trips in Australia, including a new born on a remote path in the Northern Territory. I look back at that encounter and can only assume the gods were smiling on us that we didn’t become croc dinner.
Alison
Those are huge animals, and it’s terrifying to think about all the people who are killed by them every year. The teeth replacement statistics have some bite to them (hehe). And I never knew that “crocodile tears” are a real thing. Finally, I love the last photos of the sleeping crock. Put some wings on him, and you have the perfect dragon. 🙂 I love these, shares. Thanks to you both for the photos.
The boats took us as close to them as I would ever want to get, D. My telephoto did the rest.
Lots and lots of bite. Grin. Perfect dragon, eh? I wonder if they played a part in people’s imaginations when creating dragons. And thank you. Peggy and I both appreciate having a means to share.
🙂 My pleasure.