Today, on Endangered Species Day, we feature another African animal that isn’t indigenous to South Africa.
Osteolaemus tetraspis
The Dwarf Crocodile is the smallest living species of crocodile – they grow to a maximum length of 1.9m and weight of about 32kg.
Dwarf Crocodiles inhabit streams and swamps in the equatorial forests of central and western Africa. They are solitary and mainly nocturnal in habit and hunt on land more often than most other crocodilians. They feed on a wide range of invertebrates, like insects and crabs, and smaller vertebrates, such as fish, rodents, birds and frogs.
Female Dwarf Crocodiles build nesting mounds of dead, wet plant material; the decaying of which creates heat that incubates the clutch of about 10 eggs, which takes about 3 months. The female watches over the nest and hatchlings to protect them from predators.
The IUCN considers the Dwarf Crocodile as vulnerable. There is a number of them held in public and private collections in South Africa, the USA and Europe.
DeWetsWild 
Fascinating to learn of this dwarf species, DeWets! Interesting that they lay fewer than half the eggs that our American Alligators do. Do other. Crocodiles have more young?
Crumbs I wouldn’t call 1.9 m dwarf 😳 I’d hate to meet one!
Interesting. I never knew about the dwarf crocodile. Thank you.