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This
terrifying reptile was among the first creatures on earth. It managed to
survive the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, and is not
changing through centuries at all – it seems crocodiles are beyond the
power of evolution…
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An average lifetime of a crocodile is 80 years.The oldest one (115
years old) lived in Russia and died in 1997.
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This is how crocodiles cool off in the
heat, the fact is that crocodiles sweat through mouths. It looks scary
though.An open mouth of the reptile does not mean aggression.
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Tears appear on crocodiles’ eyes when they feed. They do not feel pain
or something. It is just a physical reaction of their body to the air
pushed thru sinuses and triggering tear glands. So they do not cry
because of sadness or guilt – those tears are “fake tears”.
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In a monsoon season crocodiles are especially aggressive.It’s a period
of their mating so naturally they become more dangerous for people.
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Crocodiles do not have skin on their backs.Instead of skin they have
so-called osteoderms of their backs (type of bones), those bones so hard
that can easily withstand bullets, spears and arrows.
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The reptile has eye crystals to reflect moonlight.In the darkness all
you see is a pair of shiny red dots – quite scary!
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Crocodiles may swim only with help of their tails.The speed they develop
in the water is 40 km/h, on the ground they get tired very quickly.
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So expensive it is when made from leather taken from a crocodile’s belly
– it is the most valuable one.A good purse made of crocodile skin may
cost up to 15,000 USD.
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The
largest crocodile lives in saltwater.The species is called the
Crocodylus porosus and can be found in India, Fiji and albeit Australia.
The mass of a reptile may reach a tone, its length – 23 ft.
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Some crocodiles are can compare in size with lizards.The smallest
species is a dwarf crocodile, it is not bigger than 1,5 m, its weight up
to 18 kg.
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The reptile may strike vertically.They use their strong tails to launch
their bodies vertically and it is always a bad surprise for their prey.
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Crocodiles are able to climb trees.And this is another thing you expect
last from this creature. They do it to detect a position of a potential
prey. |