Nile crocodile

Description:

Second largest crocodilian, seemingly dark grey in color and covered in scales. Powerful tail with ridges above. Large head with powerful jaws. The nostrils and eyes are on the top of the head, so it is almost invisible when swimming underwater. The specimens we saw seemed 3 to five meters long, but hey, how could we be completely sure???

Habitat:

This is the most common crocodile species found in Africa today, and were recorded in the wild, from Northern Mediterranean coast down southwards to South Africa, including Madagascar. They inhabit lakes, marshes and rivers. Here, it was spotted in lake Chamo, in Southern Ethiopia, close to Arbaminch town and Nechisar National Park.

Notes:

In Chamo lake, a large population of crocos lives side-by-side with the population of hippopotamuses. We heard a lot of stories of indigenous boats being overturned by hyppos, and then people being eaten by crocos, like the two species were, in the way, working together. Even though some attacks on humans surely happened (and happens), by both species, this sounded a lot like a local folklore; as none of these stories could be confirmed.