)
Close up
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Females watch the
nests
)
Weighing for dietary
purposes
)
Regulating body
temperature
Click thumbnail to enlarge
)
Photo by
Anita de Villiers
)
Photo by
Anita de Villiers
)
Tea Garden
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Crocodile leather
products
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One of the new croc dams
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The new Information Centre
Can be used for functions.
Fuen
Crocodile leather handbags
)
Info
Mating:
The male attracts the female by making under water sounds and giving off a musky
aroma.
The male mounts the female and wraps his tail around hers. Mating occurs under water.
Nesting :
Unlike some crocodiles, Nile crocodiles do not build nests but lay eggs in an excavation
dug into the sand on the edge of a river or lake. The female guards the nest for
the 3 months the eggs need to hatch.
Eggs:
The number of eggs depends on the size of the female but normal clutches range
from 30 - 45 eggs. They are laid together once a year in October or November. On
the farm the eggs are removed and placed, for better control, in an incubator. When
about to hatch, baby crocodiles make a high pitched call and then crack the shell
with a temporary "egg-tooth" on the tip of the snout.
Sex determination:
The temperature of incubation determines the sex of the crocodiles.
Temperature between 26ºC and 30ºC produces mostly females
and between 30ºC and 33ºC produces mostly males.
)
)
About 5 meter long
Photo by courtesy of
Anita de Villiers
* Pictures are protected by
copyright laws.
At present we have around 15,000
crocodiles on the farm.
