A miracle happened in St. Petersburg on January 18: local residents 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
Investigative authorities suddenly rushed into 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 trafficking and possession of weapons.
The search of the building where Baranenko lives was interrupted by a frightened cry of one of the employees of the investigative committee, who was in the basement. Colleagues ran to the aid of an unfortunate comrade, and when they got down, they could not believe their eyes - they were looked at by a frightened, awakened by noise huge Nile crocodile.
The owner of the reptile made a pool for his pet in the basement of the house, and also put heaters for a comfortable stay of the animal. According to Baranenko, the man planned to further equip the life of the animal.
The search operatives 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 his homeland, where he belongs. However, a more detailed study of the legislation of the Russian Federation revealed that not a single document provides a concrete 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 Environmental Management.
Journalists, worried 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 refused to shelter the unfortunate predator, citing the lack of documents for a wild animal. By law, they are not allowed to take animals from the street. In addition, several such reptiles already live in the walls of the institution.
The Department of Veterinary Service in the city of St. Petersburg explained to reporters that their employees went to Peterhof to see a Nile crocodile, examined him and subsequently concluded that the animal was feeling fine, no diseases were found in him. Veterinarians are sure that according to the letter of the law, the animal cannot be removed from the unlucky owner, so the “African” is likely to remain in Peterhof.
Similar case
Recall that in St. Petersburg, the Nile crocodile has already been found. Four years ago, housing and communal services employees serving the Kalininsky district stumbled upon a small crocodile cub lying in a pile of garbage while cleaning the streets. As it turned out later, a poor animal was born just 5 days ago.
Employees of the plant for 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, employees of the enterprise found that reptiles can grow up to 4 meters in length, so no one decided to leave the animal in place.
The Leningrad Zoo also refused to accept the cub. Saved the animal from imminent death of the quarantine center "Veles", which is just engaged in the rescue of wild animals. The reptile was sheltered, called the Gena Civil. He received his surname in honor of the municipal district where he lives.
The fate of an abandoned animal
Now living in St. Petersburg, the Nile crocodile has grown significantly - its body length is 1.5 meters. Employees of the center believe that people who threw the animals into the trash mixed up an ostrich egg with a crocodile, and when the cub began to hatch, they simply threw it out.
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 maintaining a Nile crocodile is not so expensive, because a predator eats only 2 times a week.
The denouement of history
How the story of the wild animal from Peterhof ends will remain a mystery. Lawyers suggest that if the veterinarians do not have more questions about the maintenance and feeding of the Nile crocodile in St. Petersburg, then the owner will be fined and forced to draw up all the necessary documents. Since there are no standards for the maintenance of wild animals in Russian legislation, the owner is not obliged to part with his pet. Apparently, the Nile crocodile will be in the basement for a very long time, until the owner decides to get rid of it.
The appearance of a predator
Nile crocodile is the largest of all three species of crocodiles that live 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 whole family. Their abundance in natural habitats is high and stable, however in some countries they are an endangered species due to poachers.
Animal features
Like all other crocodiles, the Nile has very short legs, which 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 animal's eyes have a third eyelid, which serves as additional protection.
Young crocodiles of this species have a grayish or light brown color. As it grows, the color changes to darker.
A 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. He swims much faster, his maximum speed in the river reaches 30 km / h.
Physiology
The circulatory system of the Nile crocodile works due to the four-chambered heart, which allows more efficient oxygenation of the blood. Typically, a freshwater predator holds its breath for diving for several minutes, but if there is a danger or during the hunt, it can dive under water for a longer period (from 30 minutes to two hours).
Nile crocodile is a cold-blooded animal, therefore, in its body metabolism is slow. A reptile can remain without food for several days without feeling hungry, and when it comes time to eat, it can eat half its weight at a time.
The green giant has excellent hearing and a wide range of sounds. Reptile skin responds to changes in water pressure, ensuring safe immersion. The predator has about 65 conical teeth in its mouth.
Animal size
The Nile crocodile is a rather large individual, reaching a length of 5 meters. Weight exceeds the mark of 500 kg, but in nature there are specimens with a weight of more than a ton.
The largest 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 twentieth 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 also found on the island of Madagascar.
In the mid-twentieth century, crocodiles were mercilessly destroyed to obtain skin and meat, as a result of which their number was significantly reduced. The threat of the complete disappearance of Nile crocodiles was created. Today, scientists from all over the world carefully monitor the population of these animals, the number of reptiles is constantly documented, the animal is listed in the Red Book. Especially many such predators live in Kenya, Somalia, Zambia and Ethiopia.
Food
In the early days of life, crocodiles feed on small insects and invertebrates, 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. The adult green giant is able to move away from its usual habitat for several kilometers to get food.
How do crocodiles hunt
During the hunt, the crocodile actively uses its powerful body and tail to make large schools of fish move to the banks of the river, and then it swallows its prey with fast jaws. Reptiles can also join in schools for hunting, blocking groups of fish.
Nile crocodiles are successfully hunting animals that come to the river for watering. It can be giraffes, zebras, buffalos and warthogs.
Nile crocodiles are considered excellent hunters, because they can completely hide under the water, move quickly on land, and thanks to their massive torso 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.
Periodically, there are cases when huge reptiles attack people. Females guarding their cubs are especially dangerous. They are very aggressive to any living creature approaching its territory.
It is difficult to calculate cases of eating animals by humans, since cannibalism on the part of 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 the professor of medicine Richard Ruth died. The tragedy occurred in 2006.
Sports reptile hunting
In some countries of Africa where the Nile crocodile lives, hunting for him for sporting purposes is open. Arrows guard the animal in ambush, setting the bait in an open area. To make the crocodile 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 object of the hunt gets out of the water, following the food.
Crocodiles are very careful when moving, they catch even the quietest sounds, and they can also notice 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 sit in ambush for a long time, without talking or moving.
Hunters shoot at a crocodile only when the predator is on land. At the same time, powerful.300 Win caliber bullets will be required to kill the animal. Mag. or.375 H & H Magnum. In addition, the crocodile must get to a certain point on the head or neck. If you miss, then it is likely that a wounded animal can hide under water. If a 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.
