American Crocodile

Taxonomy: (Crocodylus acutus)

Spanish Name: Cocodrilo

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Lifespan: Can live up to 70 years

Distribution: Southern Mexico down to Northern South America

Behavior: Southern Mexico down to Northern South America

Diet: They eat fish, amphibians, small mammals and occasionally larger prey.

Reproduction: Males court the females for up to to months before nesting. The female lays between 20-80 eggs which hatch in around 85 days.

Threats: They are threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting.

At Alturas: Nela is from a breeding facility in San Jose. She escaped and was found a year later by maintenance workers in a water treatment tunnel and she was extremely under weight. The breeding facility had since closed down so Nela came to live at Alturas.