Crocodiles

A couple of wildebeest are heading to the water hole for a drink. The first bends down low to sip but it made a big mistake! SPLASH! A huge crocodile ruins the stillness around the water hole. It slashes its jaws at the surprised herd. It drags in a teenage wildebeest. The others escape. Crocodiles are very fierce hunters being able to catch adult wildebeest. This one has only a teenager but next hunt it should be much more successful. If a crocodile does catch an adult it could be so meaty that the crocodile might not have to eat for a month! Crocodiles are huge predators and sometimes they can kill people. They are large reptiles armored in thick, tough scales. They have incredibly massive jaws to lock prey in. After it finds a antelope, a wildebeest, or a zebra, it waits under the water with only its eyes and nostrils sticking above the water. It hides its eyes because they are on the side of the head. The prey should not see the "log" as a crocodile. and go on with drinking. But the prey made a mistake! The crocodile lunges at the prey and turns it underwater. As soon as the prey drowns, the crocodile eats the prey. Although it has many teeth it cannot chew. Instead it uses teeth to tear meat into bite-sized chunks. Then it swallows the chunks whole. Crocodiles don't just live in Africa. They live around the earth in jungles and forests.

By Tessa Sagner