Before deciding which crocodile is the largest, let's decide which animals we call crocodiles. The crocodile squad consists of two families - real crocodiles and alligators. According to the zoological classification adopted around the world, the latter are not crocodiles, but in appearance, lifestyle and habits, they are real crocodiles. In other words, de jure they are alligators, and de facto they are crocodiles. What is the difference between those and others?
Alligators differ from crocodiles in the shape of the muzzle (wider and “blunt”), the structure of the jaws and the peculiarities of water-salt metabolism. Due to the ability to remove excess salt from the body (the famous "crocodile tears), crocodiles have the opportunity, unlike alligators, to live not only in fresh water, but also in salt water.
Having dealt with the nuances of the terminology, consider what it is - the largest crocodile. The recognized leader in terms of size in the world is the combed crocodile, whose range is southeast Asia, northern Australia and the numerous islands and entire archipelagos that are located between the two continents.
The largest crocodile of recent times was caught in the Philippines in September 2011. The gluttonous creature, nicknamed Lolong, before it got on the net, managed to eat one local resident, and the second is officially reported as missing. The crocodile was hunted for three weeks.
At first, a trap was made for him from fishing nets, but a strong reptile tore it to shreds and slipped away. For the second time, local peasants, whose Lolong regularly carried cattle, made a network of metal cables. Against metal, even the largest crocodile was powerless. After captivity, the reptile was measured and weighed. Its length was equal to 617 centimeters, and weight - one ton. True, in captivity Lolong did not live long, only a year and a half, and died at the age of fifty (according to experts) years. For crocodiles who live for a hundred years, this is the prime of life. According to employees of the zoo, where Lolong was identified for living, the cause of death was the abnormally cool weather that stayed in the district for a long time.
Large crocodiles were caught before. The largest crocodile in the world, whose capture was officially recorded, was caught in Bengal at the end of the nineteenth century. It had a length of 9.9 meters.
The world's largest crocodile (crested), due to its ability to live in salt water, can take long boat trips, thanks to which it populated the southeast Asian islands and the northern coast of Australia. Due to his tremendous strength and absurd temper (this is the only crocodile that regularly attacks people), he has the audacity to even disperse sharks that inadvertently swim in his hunting grounds located in coastal ocean waters!
Its closest competitor is the Nile crocodile, which reaches almost the same (well, maybe a little smaller) size. In ancient times, the Egyptians under the name Sebek worshiped a deity in the form of a crocodile. At a time when there were few people on Earth, and many crocodiles, these reptiles, which did not have natural enemies, were huge. According to ancient authors, the largest crocodile reached a length of twenty Attic elbows (about 12 meters). Subsequently, the dimensions decreased. The reason for this, no matter how trivial, was that crocodiles did not live to an advanced age. They were killed because of dietary meat and valuable skin.
