Dwarf crocodiles can actually grow up to 1.5 metres or 4.9 feet!
At Folly Farm we have a have a breeding pair of West African dwarf crocodile – our male, Bobo, and our female, Zemora. They live in our Tropical Trails exhibit which highlights the illegal trade of animals. Zemora was smuggled into the UK and seized at customs when she was a baby.
The dwarf crocodile is the smallest species of crocodile in the world, growing up to 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) in length. When compared to the largest species, the saltwater crocodile (up to 5.2m/17 feet in length), they really do dwarf in comparison!
Dwarf crocodiles can be found in the mangrove swamps, rainforests and slow moving rivers and streams of West Africa and are mostly active at night when they like to feed on small animals such as fish, insects, lizards, water birds and shrews.
Dwarf crocodiles can lay up to ten eggs at any one time. Good diggers, the females lay their eggs in mounds of soil and vegetation. The female will dutifully guard the eggs until they hatch and will continue to look after the hatchlings once in the water.
Loss of habitat is a large threat to their population. When forets are cleared for logging and farming, it severely disturbs the rivers they live in. They are frequently hunted for their meat and body parts will be used in traditional medicines.
Our crocodiles are part of a managed breeding programme as they are a vulnerable species.
How can you help African dwarf crocodiles?
Never purchase illegal wild animal products or body parts when travelling abroad. If we stop buying, their value decreases and hunting is reduced.
Latin name
Osteolaemus tetraspis
Class
Reptilia
Order
Crocodilia
Family
Crocodylidae
Conservation status
Vulnerable
Impress your friends with everything you know about Dwarf crocodiles!
Fish, insects, lizards, water birds and shrews.
Dwarf crocodiles can each up to 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) in length. Saltwater crocodiles, the largest species of crocodile, can reach up to 5.2 metres (17 feet) in length.
There are two subspecies of dwarf crocodile – the Congo dwarf and the West African dwarf.
The collective noun for a group of crocodiles is a “bask of crocodiles”.
There are a few differences between crocodiles and alligators. Crocodiles tend to have more pointed, V-shaped snouts and alligators tend to have wider, U-shaped snouts. Alligators have wider upper jaws so their teeth are usually hidden when their mouths are closed whereas the teeth of a crocodile tend to stick up over the upper lip when a crocodile’s mouth is closed. Crocodiles are usually found in saltwater habitats whereas alligators are usually found in freshwater marshes and lakes.
Yes! You can adopt a crocodile with Folly Farm today!
