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Animal profile

Nile Crocodile

Crocodylus niloticus

ReptiliaRivers, lakes, marshes and estuaries across sub-Saharan AfricaLeast Concern

Field profile

The Nile crocodile is Africa's largest freshwater predator, commonly reaching four to five metres. It is a generalist that takes fish, birds and mammals, and it is one of the crocodilians most often observed feeding in groups at a large carcass. Females guard their nests through a long incubation.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-04-28

Nile Crocodile

Nile crocodile mothers carry hatchlings in their jaws

An animal with one of the strongest measured bites among living vertebrates lifts newly hatched young into the pouch at the floor of its mouth and ferries them to water. The same jaws that crush bone close on hatchlings without injuring them.

Read with evidence →

Nile Crocodile | Daily Animal Facts