Nile crocodile: description, features and interesting facts. Nile crocodile in St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

In St. Petersburg on January 18, a miracle happened: the locals learned that a guest from Egypt lives next to them, namely, the Nile crocodile. This animal is very revered in its natural habitat - in Africa. They found a Nile crocodile in the basement of a house on the territory of Peterhof, after which nothing was known about the fate of the reptile.

How it all started

The investigating authorities unexpectedly raided the house of Pavel Baranenko, who is the teacher of the patriotic club "Red Star". The reason for the search was the arrest last year of a truck with firearms. Transport was listed on the balance of the "Red Star". A criminal case was opened on the fact of illegal circulation and possession of weapons.

The search of the building where Baranenko lives was interrupted by a frightened cry from one of the employees of the investigative committee, who was in the basement. Colleagues ran to help the unfortunatefriend, and when they went down, they could not believe their eyes - a huge Nile crocodile, frightened, awakened by the noise, looked at them.

The owner of the reptile made a swimming pool for his pet in the basement of the house, and also installed heaters for a comfortable stay of the animal. According to Baranenko, the man planned to continue to equip the life of the animal.

The operatives who conducted the search immediately contacted the veterinary service and the prosecutor's office. At first, the prosecutor decided to seize the animal in order to return it to its homeland, where it belongs. However, upon a more detailed study of the legislation of the Russian Federation, it turned out that not a single document gives a specific answer to the question of what to do in this situation. Then the prosecutor's office decided to send a request to the Committee on Nature Management.

Journalists, concerned about the fate of the Nile crocodile living in St. Petersburg, turned to the administration of the nearest zoo for help. The management of the institution denied shelter to the unfortunate predator, citing the lack of documents for a wild animal. By law, they are not allowed to accept animals from the street. In addition, several of these reptiles already live within the walls of the institution.

The Veterinary Service Administration for the city of St. Petersburg explained to journalists that their employees went to Peterhof to the Nile crocodile, examined it and subsequently concluded that the animal feels good, no diseases were found in it. Veterinarians are sure that, according to the letter of the law, the animal cannot be removed from the unlucky owner, so the “African” will most likely remain inPeterhof.

Similar case

Recall that the Nile crocodile has already been found in St. Petersburg. Four years ago, housing and communal services employees serving the Kalininsky district, while cleaning the streets, stumbled upon a small crocodile cub, which was lying in a pile of garbage. As it turned out later, the poor animal was born only 5 days ago.

Employees of the plant for the improvement decided to settle the Nile crocodile in the office of their boss. There they bought an aquarium for him, filled it with water and sand.

Soon, the employees of the enterprise found out that the reptile, as it grows, can reach 4 meters in length, so no one dared to leave the animal in place.

Leningrad Zoo also refused to accept the cub. The animal was saved from inevitable death by the quarantine center "Veles", which is engaged in the rescue of wild animals. The reptile was sheltered and named Gena Civil. He received his surname in honor of the municipal district where he lives.

The fate of an abandoned animal

The Nile crocodile living in St. Petersburg has grown significantly - its body length is 1.5 meters. Center employees believe that people who threw the animals in the trash mixed up an ostrich egg with a crocodile one, and when the cub began to hatch, they simply threw it away.

Now the animal has quite comfortable living conditions. He lives in an aquarium with heating to the desired temperature. He eats exclusively chicken meat.

The founder of the Veles center Alexander Fedorov said that keeping the Nile crocodile is not so expensive, because the predator eats only 2 times a week.

The denouement of the story

How the story of the wild animal from Peterhof will end remains a mystery. Lawyers suggest that if veterinarians do not have more questions about keeping and feeding the Nile crocodile in St. Petersburg, then the owner will be fined and forced to complete all the necessary documents. Since there are no rules for keeping wild animals in Russian legislation, the owner is not obliged to part with his pet. Apparently, the Nile crocodile will stay in the basement for a very long time, until the owner himself decides to get rid of him.

Predator Appearance

The Nile crocodile is the largest of all three crocodile species found on the African continent. Locals call this formidable predator a cannibal crocodile. Since ancient times, this animal has caused fear and horror in people.

Currently, the Nile crocodile is the most famous of the entire family. Their numbers in their natural habitats are high and stable, but in some countries they are an endangered species due to poachers.

Features of the animal

Like all other crocodiles, the Nile has very short legs that are located on the sides of its body. He is clad in scaly skin covered with plates. He also has a long tail and massive strong jaws. The eyes of an animal have a thirdeyelid, which serves as additional protection.

Young crocodiles of this species have a grayish or light brown color. The color changes to darker as it grows.

The crocodile moves on land on its stomach, but is able to walk on four legs, fully raising its massive body. If necessary, the crocodile can run at a speed of 14 km / h. It swims much faster, its maximum speed in the river reaches 30 km/h.

Physiology

The circulatory system of the Nile crocodile is powered by a four-chambered heart, which allows for more efficient oxygenation of the blood. Typically, a freshwater predator will hold its breath to dive for a few minutes, but in case of danger or while hunting, it can dive for a longer time (from 30 minutes to two hours).

The Nile crocodile is a cold-blooded animal, so its metabolism is slow in its body. The reptile can go without food for several days without feeling hungry, and when it comes time for a snack, it can eat half its weight at a time.

Green giant has excellent hearing and a wide range of sounds. The reptile's skin reacts to changes in water pressure, ensuring a safe dive. The predator has about 65 conical teeth in its mouth.

Animal size

The Nile crocodile is a fairly large individual, reaching a length of 5 meters. The weight exceeds 500 kg, but in nature there are also specimens weighing more than a ton.

The biggestthe crocodile, which was found in the wild, had a weight of 1090 kg, the length of the reptile reached 6.45 meters. A unique animal was killed in Tanzania at the dawn of the 20th century.

Habitat

To answer the question of where the Nile crocodile lives, you should know that this animal prefers the banks of rivers and lakes. This type of reptile is common on the African continent south of the Sahara. Also, a dangerous predator is met on the island of Madagascar.

In the middle of the twentieth century, crocodiles were mercilessly destroyed for skin and meat, as a result of which their numbers were significantly reduced. There was a threat of complete extinction of the Nile crocodiles. Today, the population of these animals is carefully monitored by scientists from all over the world, the number of reptiles is constantly documented, the animal is listed in the Red Book. Especially many of these predators live in Kenya, Somalia, Zambia and Ethiopia.

Food

Crocodiles feed on small insects and invertebrates during the first days of life, then their diet changes and they prefer to hunt reptiles and birds.

Adult crocodiles prefer to eat fish, but in some cases they can eat any animal. An adult green giant is able to move several kilometers away from its usual habitat in order to get food.

How crocodiles hunt

During the hunt, the crocodile actively uses its powerful body and tail to force large schools of fishmove to the river bank, and then he swallows his prey with fast jaws. Also, reptiles can form flocks for hunting, blocking groups of fish.

Nile crocodiles successfully hunt animals that come to the river to drink. It can be giraffes, zebras, buffaloes and warthogs.

Nile crocodiles are considered excellent hunters, because they can completely hide under the water column, move quickly on land, and thanks to their massive body and powerful jaws, they can easily cope even with large animals. In the process of sharing the prey, several crocodiles work together to tear the body of the victim.

From time to time there are cases when huge reptiles attack people. Especially dangerous are females guarding their cubs. They are very aggressive towards any living creature that approaches its territory.

It is difficult to calculate cases of human being eaten by animals, since cannibalism by crocodiles occurs in a remote area. According to some reports, the number of victims among people from the attacks of the Nile crocodile is more than 1000 people a year. The most famous case of human death from the jaws of a crocodile occurred in Botswana, when professor of medicine Richard Root died. The tragedy occurred in 2006.

Reptile sport hunting

In some African countries where the Nile crocodile lives, hunting for it is open for sporting purposes. The shooters lie in wait for the animal in ambush, setting the bait in an open area. To force the crocodile to go out to the hunters, they use a dead animal (antelope,baboon, goat or other). The carcass is positioned in such a way that the subject of the hunt gets out of the water, following the food.

Crocodiles are very careful while moving, they pick up even the quietest sounds, they can also notice the unusual behavior of birds in the vicinity. That is why hunters should be at least 50-80 meters from the reptile. Hunters are required to lie in ambush for extended periods of time without speaking or moving.

Hunters shoot at the crocodile only at the moment when the predator is on land. At the same time, powerful.300 Win caliber bullets are required to kill the animal. Mag. or.375 H&H Magnum. In addition, the crocodile needs to hit a certain point on the head or neck. If you miss, then there is a high probability that the wounded animal can hide under water. If the crocodile dies from loss of blood and wounds, then his body will go to the bottom. Pulling out such a huge carcass, weighing several hundred kilograms, is quite difficult.

Worshiping the crocodile in Egypt

In ancient Egypt, the god Sebek was revered, who was considered the protector of the pharaoh from dark forces. Ordinary residents had an ambivalent attitude towards the deity: sometimes hunters killed crocodiles, insulting and angering the god, and sometimes presented various gifts to the temples of Sebek.

This deity was depicted in the drawings as a crocodile or as a man with a crocodile head. Large temples were located in the cities of Shedit and Kom Ombo.

Herodotus noted in his chronicles that some residentsThe ancient Egyptians kept crocodiles at home. The crocodile also lived in a temple where the god Sebek was revered. They fed him there, decorated the body of the animal with precious stones, the parishioners worshiped the predator. When the crocodile died, its body was mummified and placed in a tomb. Modern scientists have repeatedly found graves with mummified crocodiles and large crocodile eggs. Several well-preserved copies are preserved in the Cairo Museum.