The slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) is a rare crocodile species that lives throughout the Africa. It is mainly found in the western and central Africa.
Adult males measure around 2.5 m (8.2 ft) but they can grow as large as 4.2 m (14 ft). Slender-snouted crocodiles are smaller than the Nile crocodiles.
They have brown to grayish green appearance. Slender-snouted crocodiles appear to possess sharp sense of hearing, sight, and smell.
The average weight is about 125 to 325 kg (276 and 717 lb). They also possess 64 – 70 sharp teeth.
Slender-snouted croc
odiles mostly feed on crustaceans, amphibians, smaller mammals, aquatic snakes, birds, turtles, and fish.
They will swim with their heads exposed out of water. By so doing slender-snouted crocodiles can see their prey without getting noticed.
The females begin to nest in the wet season. They build nests of plants and vegetation.
Unlike many other crocodiles, adult slender-snouted can also climb up the trees.
The female lays as many as 16 – 27 eggs at one time. She prefers to remain as close a distance as possible to her nest. However she might not defend her nest in a way other crocodiles do.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed slender-snouted crocodiles as critically endangered species.
