What do Nile crocodiles feed on?
They are predators which mostly feed on fish, given the fact that fresh water is their natural habitat. Crocodiles can eat up to half their body, and can surprisingly also go months without feeding. A little biology: they have fat stored in their tails which they live off in months when they are not feeding. They can manage long stretches of time without food, by slowing down the metabolism.
On the one hand a Nile crocodile can eat up to half its body weight at a feeding while on the other hand they can go for months without food – living off the fat stored in their tails. They do so by slowing down the body metabolisms. They have the strongest biting force of any animal on earth having strong muscles to close their jaws but at the same time they have very weak muscles to open that jaw.
How dangerous are the crocodiles on the Nile?
They are natural predators and can kill both humans and animals. They strangely have weak muscles to open their jaws, but have strong muscles to close their jaws, giving them the strongest biting force of any known animal. They are sneaky predators that can hide from human detection and attack when it’s too late for the human to take safety precaution. But if you are on a boat ride, you don’t have to worry much about being eaten; you are perfectly safe on the boat. Do keep your feet away from the water though. … Unless you like to live dangerously.
There was a man-eating crocodile on the banks of the Nile that was relocated by the Uganda wildlife authority a few years ago.
On a boat ride along the Nile up to the Murchison falls you will see a number of crocodiles. They can be seen lying lazily on the sandbanks near the falls. When you see, all spread, and resting they might seem like the slowest and laziest animals ever, but all that is just camouflage and very deceptive. In truth, these vicious animals can be very fast on both water and land. They are usually more aggressive during the mating season.
In ancient Egypt, through which the Nile runs too, there was a crocodile god worshipped as a god of fertility, protection, and power of the pharaoh. Because of this, many Egyptians kept crocodiles as pets and when those pets died they were buried honorably. They were mummified and buried in a sacred tomb. The rest of Africa however does not feel that way about crocodiles. There are no Africans worshiping and revering the crocodiles like the ancient Egyptians did. Instead, the crocodile population is going down because they are being hunted for leather. And those that encroach on villages and supposedly threaten the lives of the villagers are simply killed.
Although the people are not entirely at fault, often times they are protecting themselves from a predator. Crocodiles kill about 200 people annually. Most of these are innocents, clueless or careless, who go to the river or lake to wash, fetch water, swim or wash clothes.
When you go for your boat ride on the Nile while on your safari in Uganda, stay at least three meters away from them to be surely safe.
