Do You Want to Find out More About the Saltwater Crocodile?

There are many creatures that can be found here in the Earth, and the ones living on land are classified either as mammal, amphibian and reptile. The mammal family is made up of us humans, as well as dogs, cats and even dolphins and whales. The amphibians can live on water and land, but must live near a water source. Reptiles, as mentioned earlier, can also live both in land and water but they have thicker scales and have lungs rather than gills.

Reptiles have been living on our planet for several epochs now.The dinosaur, which is already extinct, is the most important example, scientifically, of a reptile. These are basically the largest reptiles to live off the Earth. However, a catastrophic event wiped them off the face of the planet. The general agreement between scientists is that it was an asteroid fragment or a meteor, whose impact upon crashing on Earth threw up dust high into the atmosphere and prevent sunlight from coming through. It is an educated guess to be exact, but one theory is that these great beasts were starved off because of the lack of vegetation and animals to feed on as the effects of the meteor impact carried on for thousands of years. There are creatures, however, that were able to survive the catastrophe because they lived under the sea. In any case, the dinosaurs still lived on through their descendants: the lizard family of the reptiles, the largest of which are the crocodiles.

There are many types of crocodiles existing today, and the biggest specie is the saltwater crocodile. The saltwater crocodile is said to grow up to in excess of 20 feet, although sexual maturity is reached at around 11 feet in length. The current record in the Guinness Book for the largest saltwater crocodile is at 6.4 meters or 21 feet, a male captured in the Southern part of the Philippine Islands.Sexual dimorphism results to females being smaller than the male, and the largest female saltwater crocodile is currently at 14 feet.Though potential sizes vary from animal to animal, a saltwater crocodile can only grow as large as it could depending on the availability of food sources. Older crocodiles occupy territories that cannot be taken by younger and smaller crocodiles, so younger crocodiles have access to typically less food sources.Saltwater crocodiles bred in captivity have the tendency to grow bigger as well, as long as they are fed sufficiently by the park administrators.

You can find saltwater crocodiles spread out evenly through parts of Asia. The areas between Southeast Asia up to India and Northern Australia is typically the backyard of the estuarine crocodile.This wide range of distribution is because of the crocodile's ability to live in both water and land, from which it is named. In Australia, they can be found in rivers, swamps and estuaries. Australians or even people from neighbouring countries that want to observe a saltwater crocodile in its natural environment should not hesitate to book adventure tours at Travel Wild. Partaking of these tours will find you in a guided exploration of Kakadu, where you will find estuarine crocodiles together with other wildlife. These tours will allow you to observe saltwater crocodiles at a distance where you will not be in danger of being attacked or injured.

Taking a wildlife tour is one excellent way of spending a weekend or a holiday.It is very educational especially for younger children.Joining adventure tours will hopefully also increase your awareness and respect for Mother Nature. Please enquire for more information here.

Danilo Gibson - About Author:
Adventure hunters can easily acquire inexpensive, special tours at Travelwild.com.au. The dedicated tour operator offers a range of pursuits such as jeep-style 4WD drives, bush camping, mountaineering, boat cruises, plus more. All trips are led by professional, licensed guides to ensure security and maximum excitement.

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