Mugger crocodile

Description:

In the first pic the crocodile is visible with a prey (probably a cow or a chinkara deer) all the pics are of different individuals. The mugger crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding countries. It is one of the three crocodilians found in India, the others being the Gharial and the Saltwater crocodile. The name "mugger" is a corruption of the Urdu word magar which means "water monster". This is in turn derived from makara, the Sanskrit word for crocodile.

Habitat:

Mainly a freshwater species, the mugger crocodile is found in lakes, rivers and marshes. Muggers prefer slow-moving, shallower bodies of water rather than, fast-flowing, deep areas.

Notes:

Being a large carnivorous reptile, the mugger crocodile eats fish, other reptiles and small mammals, such as monkeys. In fact, most vertebrates that approach to drink are potential prey, and may suffer being seized and dragged into the water to be drowned and devoured at leisure. Large adults will sometimes prey on large mammals such as deer, including the 225-kg sambar deer, and the 450-kg domestic water buffalo. At night they sometimes hunt on land, lying in ambush near forest trails.