50 years of Crocodile Conservation Project

Difference between crocodiles and alligators

• A crocodile's snout is long and V-shaped, while an alligator's snout is wide and U-shaped.
• Crocodiles prefer to live in saltwater near the beach, while alligators live primarily in freshwater environments.
• Alligators have webbed feet, while crocodiles have separate toes.
• Crocodiles are able to secrete excess salt from their bodies through glands on their tongues, but alligators are not.
• Crocodiles are found in various regions around the world, mainly in tropical and subtropical habitats, while there are two species of alligators: the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis).

Also know this

• World Crocodile Day is celebrated on June 17 by the Belize-based Crocodile Research Alliance.
• The day is a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world.
• The Crocodile Research Coalition is a Belize-based non-profit organization founded in January 2016 that seeks to conserve crocodiles and their environments throughout Central America and the Caribbean to ensure the long-term sustainability of biodiversity in the region.

Species of Crocodiles in India

Mugger or marsh crocodile
(Crocodylus palustris)

Mugger or Marsh Crocodile:

• This is an egg-laying and hole-nesting species which is also considered dangerous.
• It is mainly restricted to the Indian subcontinent and is found in freshwater sources as well as coastal brackish water lagoons and estuaries.
• It is extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar.
• The major threats are destruction, fragmentation and alteration of habitats, fishing activities, and the use of crocodile parts for medicinal purposes.

Salty or Saltwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus porosus)

Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile

• It is the largest living crocodile species on Earth, known globally as a known man-eater.
• This crocodile is found in the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha, Sundarbans in West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• It is also found in South-East Asia and Northern Australia.
• The main threats to this species are poaching, habitat loss and hostility towards the species..

Crocodile
(Gavialis gangeticus)

Crocodile

• Also called gavials, these Asian crocodiles are distinguished from other crocodiles by their long, thin snout, which resembles a pot.
• The crocodile population is a good indicator of clean river water.
• It is known as a relatively harmless, fish-eating species.
• This species is mostly found in the fresh water of Himalayan rivers.
• The Chambal River in the northern slopes of the Vindhya Mountains (Madhya Pradesh) is known to be the primary habitat of the gharial.
• Other Himalayan rivers like Ghaghara, Gandak River, Girwa River, Ramganga River and Son River are its secondary habitats.
• The main threats to this species are illegal sand mining, poaching, increasing river pollution, dam construction, large-scale fishing and floods.