Talk:Crocodile
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Classification chart
The classification chart here is not quite consistent with the one I'm putting into the crocodylia entry. Needs resolution sometime. In particular, is crocodylinae a family, as stated here, or is it a subfamily of the family crocodylidae? For the URL of my source see the crocodylia entry. Andrewa 01:36 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Danger
Hmmm. The edit following my last one seems designed to again minimise the danger that crocodiles pose. It read "Crocodiles of any species should be treated with the care afforded any wild animal, but will not attack unless provoked." I don't think that's true. I think it may well be true of American crocodiles and alligators, but not of the four species I listed. Earlier this year a tourist was killed by a "saltie" in northern Australia, and her only mistake was to believe the tour guide (since charged with manslaughter) who told her that it was safe to swim. The croc's only reason for attacking was that she represented prey.
I'm very concerned that this should be accurate. Those taken in Australia recently have all been overseas tourists. Some of them may well read Wikipedia. Andrewa 09:35 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Quite right, Andrew. Crocs are seriously dangerous, and all you have to do is be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I removed the offending sentence. Tannin 10:05 9 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Identification
Can someone help me? I want to place the following photograph (I got permission) on the page, but I'm not sure if it's a croc or an aligator. Can someone tell me? See [1] (http://www.xs4all.nl/~nielsie/Fotoalbum/imagepages/image144.html) Pascal 16:05, 20 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- Great photo. Looks like a saltwater crocodile to me, but I wouldn't take that as an expert opinion. If you find out where it was taken, that would probably tell us, as the ranges of the larger species don't overlap very much at all. Andrewa 15:13, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- images preceding and following are clearly African jimfbleak
- I'm very wary of that word "clearly" ever since some other Wikipedian edited the acoustic bass guitar article to describe my fretless Eston bass as "fretted". The edit summary reads "it clearly has frets". I've been playing this particular instrument for about 20 years and I think I'd have noticed by now if it did (it does have fretlike markers, like many ABGs).
- So, why do you say this? Andrewa 10:29, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- Perhaps I need to spell it out: the 156 pictures are someone's holiday snaps including hotel and bus. All the identifiable pictures are of black people, often wearing traditional African dress, or of African animal species like Giraffe, Lion, Hippopotamus or African Elephant. That looks fairly clear to me. jimfbleak
- Thank you. That's all I was asking you to do. The black people could be Melanesian, which would make the croc a saltie. But the giraffe, lion, hippo and elephant couldn't be, and there are other hints of Africa too, so you're right, it's probably a nile. I still think it would be good to ask the photographer. Andrewa 19:50, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)
The images were taken in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, at the DumaZulu Snake and Crocodile Park (see [2] (http://www.xs4all.nl/~nielsie/Fotoalbum/imagepages/image133.html)). That would probably make it a nile, since AFAIK that's the only one occuring here.
Alligators vs. Crocodiles
Fokelore has it that one can tell alligators and crocodiles apart by their snouts--one is square and the other is tapered. Can someone confirm this, and if so, add it to the page? (I too have travel photos I'm trying to ID :-)
Which crocodiles eat people
I'd dispute the part about which crocodiles eat people; AFAIK there are no known cases of black caiman attacks, but the American Alligator and American Crocodile are known to attack and eat people. Also I believe there may be cases of Orinoco and Siamese crocodiles attacking people. Amygdala
Oviducts
Do all (female) crocodiles have two oviducts, or just certain species? Might be an interesting "factoid" for the article. Kevin Saff 15:04, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Flying crocs
Can we get more information about crocodiles getting wings and being able to fly in the migratory season? I've never seen a winged or flying croc. Maybe a picture would be nice.
