Are Freshwater Crocodiles Going Extinct?

Barely a week into 2010 and already the crazy crocodile stories are starting to appear. This one concerns the possible decline of freshwater crocodiles at the hands of expanding saltwater crocodile populations. The story itself is clearly prompted by the release of the revised management plan which contains a graph showing the apparent decline in freshwater crocodiles detected during surveys of the Daly River.I'm not sure that I'd be leaping...

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Psychic crocodile

Well, if I'm going to get this blog rolling again, why not start with a crazy, cash-in story?! I'm sure most people are aware by now of Paul the "psychic" octopus who has an unbroken record of accurately predicting the matches that Germany won and lost during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Well, Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin has clearly decided to ride the wave of anticipation over Paul's latest prediction that Spain will win the World...

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Australia's "monster" crocodile

This photograph has been doing the rounds lately. It purportedly shows a giant 6.5 metre (22 foot) saltwater crocodile that was shot in... well, there's the rub. There seems to be some disagreement about whether it was shot in Queensland, or the Northern Territory, and therefore who owns Australia's largest (dead) crocodile. This disagreement has spilled over into the international media, all of whom love a good story about giant crocodiles.There's...

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Crocodile: "Is it time for my dental check-up?"

This crocodile was lurking in the underbrush on the banks of the Tempisque River in Palo Verde National Park. His color matches the mud bank quite well, although he is certainly not as camoflauged on the river bank as he is when he is floating just under the surface of the water.This close-up of the crocodile's head demonstrates how tour operators can take tourists in boats on river cruises to view the wildlife up close in their natural habitat....

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Crocodile, Up Close and Personal

This is my favorite crocodile photo. This was a rare chance to look upwards at a crocodile in the wild from an angle to photograph the underside of his chin.I was so close to this crocodile that an instant after I took this photo the crocodile rushed into the river and I got splattered with mud as he dove into the water. (Yes, I did use a telephoto zoom, so I was not as close as this photo appears.)I took this photo from a wildlife boat...

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Caiman

This is a close up of a caiman. Caiman are similar to crocodiles, only smaller. They are only about 2.5 meters (8 ft.) in length. They are not as aggressive as crocodiles and are generally considered not to be a threat to people. You will also notice that they do not have as large a set of teeth as crocodiles, and they do not have the the large tooth that protrudes upward from the lower jaw about 4 teeth back from the tip of its mouth.Caiman...

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Caiman head

We will transition from the photos of a poison reptile during the last two days to another reptile. This is a close up of the head of a caiman. I apologize that the photo is not sharper, but he was lurking in a shadowy area of a river in a dark area of the jungle. You can see the vertical slit of his eyes.He was very still, lurking below the water's surface, waiting for a bird or other prey to come near....

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Is the crocodile moving in for the kill?

As we watched the crocodile lurking in the underbrush along the muddy river bank, the crocodile slowly slithered through the mud towards the heron. I felt like I was watching one of the episodes of the old television program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Where was the voice of Marlin Perkins calling to Jim Fowler, 'The heron could make a tasty lunch for the ravenous appetite of the relentless predator crocodile, whose sharp teeth and...

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Safety for the heron

Fortunately, the crocodile was more interested in going into the water than attacking the heron. Maybe the bird consists of too much feathers and bones and not enough meat to interest the crocodile. I suspect that the bird knew that the crocodile would not attack it, as it did not fly away, or even walk down the river bank, as the crocodile moved along side the bird and then went into the water.Tomorrow I will show you 32 of the 64 reasons...

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Crocodile and his teeth

I count 32 teeth in this photo. Assuming that the crocodile has the same number of teeth on the other side, that would make 64 teeth to grab, slice into and chew its prey. The extra large fourth upward tooth is distinctive of a crocodile and is a way to distinguish between crocodiles and alligators. I am relieved that the crocodile did not attack the heron that I showed during the past few days. Fortunately, the crocodiles in the western...

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Spooky crocodile for Halloween

Lurking in the river.Blood without heat.Eyes of a killer.Trick or tre...

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Crocodile thrashing

The crocodiles that I have shown on this website have generally been rather still. I therefore decided today to show a crocodile in motion. I realize that you can't see very much of him, as he has kicked up a splash that has obscured the view of him as he lunged and spun in the water. A portion of his back is visible to the side of the splash. I stayed safely in the boat. I once leaned over the edge of the boat so I could get an angle...

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crocodile on the river bank

This is a more traditional view of a crocodile. Compared to this crocodile, yesterday's crocodile looks like a dolphin at Sea World doing tricks. Crocodiles can move surprisingly fast. Once I was photographing a crocodile on the river bank, from the safety of a boat, of course, and he darted into the water so fast that he splattered me with mud before I could pull back into the boat. Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our...

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Crocodile coming up out of the water

Here is a different reptile than the calm, harmless iguanas that I have shown several times during the last month. Unlike the iguana who was very close to me in the photo I showed yesterday, or the series of the iguana at the Tamarindo airport that I showed several weeks ago, here is a crocodile that you would not want to encounter in the wild, except from the safety of a boat.Yes, this crocodile is in the wild. I was in a boat, no more...

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hey Nice Crocodile

The crocodile in this photo does not look mean, does he? He looks almost friendly, if you can overlook the many sharp teeth. Crocodiles look menacing when lurking at the surface of the water. Crocodiles look terrifying when their mouths are open.Tune in again tomorrow. Today's photo is a tease. I took this photo while on a wildlife boat trip in Palo Verde National Park. I recommend these trips to the people who rent our condos in Tamarindo....

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Photo of a fierce, hungry crocodile

OK. This is not a nice crocodile. This is a photo of a large, hungry crocodile.Several people yesterday left comments that they hoped my crocodile photos were taken with a telephoto lens. They were not. I took this photo from a distance of about 6 or 7 feet, a little more than 2 meters. I was in the safety of a boat.You can tell from the angle of the photograph that I was shooting down on the crocodile at close range, as I could not get...

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Blue jeans poison dart frog

This strawberry poison dart frog, also called a blue jeans poison dart frog, is one of 7 species of poison dart frogs in Costa Rica. They are poisonous to touch if you have a cut on your hand, but I do not touch them just in case. They are tiny. Most are only about 2 cm (1 inch) in length, and large ones get to about twice that size.Poison dart frogs display remarkable parenting behavior for animals other than mammals and birds. Their courtship...

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Poison Dart Frogs and him

La Fortuna Costa Rica has its fair share of Poison Dart Frogs... but luckily, there's only ONE michael alan.love, Love, LOVE the Strawberry poison dart frog. Well, around La Fortuna Costa Rica, we call it the 'Blue Jean Frog' for obvious reasons. Yup, it's poisonous, how poisonous depends on who you ask. And in this picture I'm eyeballing it just make sure it doesn't decide to jump in my mouth.If you're ever in the La Fortuna/Arenal area,...

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Coolest Colored but Most Poisonous Frog

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World's Smallest Frog Packs Poison Punch

The record-holder for the smallest frog in the world apparently makes up for its miniature size by packing a wallop of poison, research reveals.With a body that's only 10 millimeters long, the Mount Iberia frog (Eleutherodactylus iberia) from Cuba currently holds the Guinness World Record for smallest frog.The smallest frog in the world would fit (with room for a buddy) on your fingertip. Credit: A. Rodriguez and M. Vences.Investigating these dwarf...

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Green Vine Snake eating bird

This beautiful snake is a Green Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus), and is common in Tortuguero, Costa Rica.I found it today in one of the nets as it was trying to eat a hummingbird!When I found it, the hummingbird was already dead. I do net runs every half hour, but I was too late for the juvenile Rufous-tailed Hummingbird that the snake is trying to eat here.Hummingbirds are often less entangled in the nets than other birds, and the snake certainly...

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14+ Most Beautiful and Amazing Captured Snake Photos to Praise Nature

Here are some beautiful and amazing Snake Photos captured by camera with different styles like Heros, hope they will make you to Praise Nature created by God. Although Snakes are very dangerous animals(Reptiles) but they are beautiful also by some another eye.I have gone through browsing and found some of such photos that make me Praise Nature.Take a Look :)...

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Pictures of Most Beautiful & Colourful Snakes

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