Biggest Crocodile in The World

Crocodile is one reptilian species, that can send shudders down your spine. These prehistoric creatures are large aquatic reptiles that live in the waters of Africa, Asia, Australia and America. Crocodiles are carnivores and love to devour fish, mammals, reptiles, crustaceans and anything that is living, depending on the species. They are like the modern-day Tyrannosaurus rex that spread terror in the minds of people.

Crocodiles belong to the family Crocodylidae that are found in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and even brackish water. People have always been fascinated by these creatures and wonder which is the biggest crocodile in the world? Many claim to have found or may have caught the biggest crocodile ever. You may have heard tales of finding a crocodile that was as big as the length of a boat or may be even bigger. Let us ponder upon the subject, which is the biggest crocodile ever.

Biggest Crocodile Species in the World
Let us travel into the past to know which was the biggest crocodile in the world. Fossils have shown that these dead and fossilized crocodiles were twice as big than those living today. They were 15 to 50 feet long and I like to call them 'dragons from the past'. So, which is the biggest crocodile in the world today?

The Crocodylus porosus, is the biggest crocodile in the world today. It also wins the title of being the largest living reptile in the world, hands down. You may have snake fans screaming that some members of snakes are the largest reptiles, but none can match the length and body mass of the crocodiles. It was thought that crocodiles never stop growing, so the oldest croc is the largest reptile. But they do stop growing when they are very old and growth process is too slow. The saltwater or Estuarine crocodile may grow up to 7 meters or 23 feet in length, making them the biggest crocodile in the world.

The Nile Crocodile is an endangered species today. It can grow up to 16 feet or 5 meters in length and under ideal conditions, it can reach a length of 6 meters or 19 feet. Thus, you can call the Nile crocodile, as the second biggest crocodile in the world. Next, comes the Orinoco Crocodile which also falls in the list of endangered species. They live in South America in the Orinoco river. They used to grow up to a size of 7 meters or 23 feet in length. But today, they reach a size of about 5 meters or 16 feet. Thus, the Orinoco crocodile is the third biggest crocodile in the world.

Another endangered species, the American Crocodile can reach a length of 5 meters or 16 feet. So, it's a tie between the American crocodile and Orinoco crocodile. Next comes the Mugger Crocodile, which lives in the waters of the Indian subcontinent and surrounding countries. The Mugger crocodile can reach a length of 4.5 meters to 15 feet making them one of the biggest crocodile in the world. You may have heard of the Slender-Snouted Crocodiles of central and western Africa. These crocodiles reach the length of about 4.3 meters to 14 feet. The Indian Gharial reaches a size of about 5 meters or 16.4 feet in length.

The New Guinea Crocodiles of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea can reach a height of about 3 meters or 10 feet. These crocodiles can be found in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, where they are also called the Morelet's Crocodile and can reach 3 meters or 10 feet in length. The critically endangered species, the Siamese Crocodile found in Indonesia, Borneo, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam can grow up to 3 meters or 10 feet long. The Philippine Crocodile also reaches the same length of 3 meters or 10 feet.

The average length crocodile in the world is the Freshwater Crocodile, also called the Johnston's Crocodile or even Freshies. They are found in Australia and reach a length of about 2.3 to 3 meters or 8 to 10 feet in about 30 years! The Cuban Crocodile, one more species that finds its way to the list of endangered species is found in Zatapa Swamp in Cuba. This crocodile can reach a length of just 2.5 meters or 8 feet in length.

Have you noticed that more than half of the crocodile species are on the list of endangered animals? Is our world shrinking and there is no place for these biggest crocodiles in the world? Or are we so selfish that we do not wish to share our planet with the species which has been here before man was even created?

Biggest Recorded Crocodiles in the World
The above mentioned crocodiles were according to the species found on planet Earth. But there are exceptions and many crocodiles captured or captive crocodiles have reached more than their average size. For example, the biggest crocodile in the world that was a captive animal was found in Darwin, Australia. He had reached over 16 feet in length that was close to the saltwater crocodile size.

In September 2011, fishermen from a small Philippine village were able to catch the worlds biggest crocodile ever! This small village lies towards the south-east of Manila and is home to a massive crocodile. About 100 men had to come together and managed to capture this giant cautiously. The crocodile measured 21 feet (6.4 meters) from the snout to tail and was able to surpass the previous record held by the saltwater crocodile from Australia, mentioned in the preceding paragraph. It weighs around 1.075 kilogram, that is, 2.370 pounds. It was named 'Lolong' after one of its captors, 'Ernesto "Lolong" Conate'. It will not be killed and kept in a nature park according to the local government.

The Guinness Book of World Records have recorded the biggest crocodile in world to be held in captivity, named 'Yai'. He had a gigantic size of 19 feet and 8 inches from nose to tail in 2000. Today, he has crossed the mark of 20 feet. The largest saltwater crocodile in captivity was 'Oscar' who had reached a size of more than 18 feet in Queensland, Australia.

Apart from the above recorded biggest living crocodiles, there have been many biggest crocodiles that were killed after capture or those based measured based on their remains found. The largest crocodile in the wild ever to be recorded was found in the Bay of Bengal. It was over 10.1 meters or 33.1 feet in length. He was already dead when found and only his head recovered. Another skull of saltwater crocodiles found in Orissa, India is said to have been of a crocodile that may have been about 23 feet in length. But, you cannot say for sure that they were the biggest crocodiles in the world, as one can only estimate the total length from skull size.

There are only two records found that are complete and reliable, which claim to have found the biggest crocodile ever. A crocodile that was entangled in a fishing net in the Mary River in Northern Australia in 1974 was recorded to be about 6.2 meters or 20 feet in length. The fishermen killed it with an ax and brought back just the head. The wild rangers soon spotted the body and recorded the total length. You can still have a look at the skull, displayed at the Darwin Crocodile Farm.

The second record comes from Papua New Guniea in 1983. The villages killed a crocodile that too was 6.2 meters or 20.3 feet in length. Zoologists Jerome Montague and Rom Whitaker measured the skin of the crocodile and concluded that it was the biggest crocodile in the world. They said the crocodile maybe another 3.9 inches or 10 centimeters longer, as the skin gives an underestimate of the original size.

So, this is my take on the biggest crocodile ever. I cannot determine which is the biggest crocodile ever as the world is full of claims and records to have found the biggest croc. Crocodiles take many years to reach their full size and with the number of crocodiles found on the endangered species list, I think they are lost before they even reached their biggest length. Crocodiles are scary monsters and you are as good as dead if you meet a hungry crocodile. Yet, these are creatures of God and they too play an important role in our ecosystem.

We should take care that their habitat is not lost and their species can live for another 50 million years. They are living on our planet before the first dinosaurs appeared and they have the right to remain on this planet as much as we do. We should not be so much self-engrossed in our own selfish motives, that we forget that we share the planet with other animals too. Spare a thought and avoid buying animal products like crocodile skin purses, bags, shoes, etc. I hope our kids do not have to look at the pictures of the biggest crocodile in the world. They would be more than happy and thankful to us if they can see a live crocodile in his territory lazing around waiting for a catch.