10 Amazing Facts You Never Knew About Crocodiles 

This terrifying reptile was among the first creatures on earth. It managed to survive the last mass extinction 65 million years ago, and is not changing through centuries at all – it seems crocodiles are beyond the power of evolution…

Here we present 20 cool facts about these startling but fascinating reptiles.

1. Some tribes of New Guinea venerate crocodiles and make scars on their skin to resemble them somehow.

One of this tribes is Kaningara – its adults cover their full bodies with scarring to confirm they have become real men.

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2. An average lifetime of a crocodile is 80 years.

The oldest one (115 years old) lived in Russia and died in 1997.

 

4. An open mouth of the reptile does not mean aggression.

This is how crocodiles cool off in the heat, the fact is that crocodiles sweat through mouths. It looks scary though.

 

5. Crocodiles swallow stones for .. digestion.

Their teeth are not for chewing, but for crushing and grasping, swallowed stones grind food in their stomachs.

 

6. They do shed tears.

Tears appear on crocodiles’ eyes when they feed. They do not feel pain or something. It is just a physical reaction of their body to the air pushed thru sinuses and triggering tear glands. So they do not cry because of sadness or guilt – those tears are “fake tears”.

 

9. Crocodiles do not have skin on their backs.

Instead of skin they have so-called osteoderms of their backs (type of bones), those bones so hard that can easily withstand bullets, spears and arrows.

 

10. Crocodile’s heart consists of four chambers.

Similar to birds crocodiles have 4-chambered hearts which let them be as active as they are. However when the reptile is under the water, its heart acts like a three-chambered one to enable the crocodile stay longer without air.