The June – the month of fashion weeks and day for a fashion victim.

‘’The investigator visited a farm that holds tens of thousands of crocodiles and slaughters 1,500 of them every three months. At this farm—which supplies skins to Louis Vuitton—about 5,000 crocodiles were kept in small, concrete enclosures—some narrower than the length of their bodies. The investigator was told that they are kept in these conditions, which a reptile expert called “overly-restrictive, under stimulating, and inhumane” for large crocodiles, for 15 months before finally being slaughtered.’’

(“PETA Exposes the Cruelty Behind Crocodile Skin Bags,” 2024)

Crocodiles, known for their nasty bites, are the largest living reptiles in the world. They have an estimated bite force of 5,000 pounds per square inch, which is more than a hundred times stronger and more vicious than a human bite. Despite their fearsome portrayals, these jungle beasts play a crucial role in maintaining other species in their habitat as predators, and the above statement shows the current status of this species.
You will be wondering and curious about this statement, which was published by PETA—PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS. Simply put, PETA is a global-level non-profit organization that stands against animal speciesism and the abuse of animals in many fields, including food, entertainment, and fashion, and it stands for animal rights and ethics. The PETA statement cited at the beginning of this blog was issued in an article released about 7 years ago and is based on eyewitness footage of VIETNAME CROCODILE FARMS and the horrifying reality of those slaughtering houses for killing, cutting, and skinning crocodiles for making luxury-branded products in the fashion industry. This statement appears under the ‘’threats for the Crocs’’ section in this blog. Recent studies showed that about 1.33 million crocodiles have been killed each year globally from 2007 to 2010 for the meat, crafts, and fashion industries (Shilton et al., 2016a). It was found a few years ago that some of the crocodile species showed early signs of disappearing from the world. Before the discussion about threats and conservation of crocodiles, first, let us educate you on fascinating facts about the Plight of the Most Feared Reptile in the Wild—crocodiles—on this 17th of July—WOLRD’S Croc Day.

01] Evolution of crocodiles—the dinosaurs of our time:

Figure 02: Evolution of Crocodiles

‘’According to archaeologists, if we condensed this entire story of Earth’s history into just 24 hours, it shows us that life would have appeared at around 4:00 am, crocodiles at 10:40 pm, dinosaur extinction at 11:41 pm, and human history would have begun at 11:58:43 pm, along with living primitive reptiles.’’

This information shows that the immersion of this viciousness in the earliest crocodile traces dates back to around 95 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period when the earth was ruled by the dominant dinosaurs in Class Archosauria (“ruling reptiles”) in the pre-historic era. Many fossils unearthed suggest that Crocodiles are the last remaining members of the class Archosauria and the only living dinosaurs in the Mesozoic era. Some 200-year-old fossils even suggest that, despite the mass extinction of dinosaurs in the Cretaceous era, Crocodiles entered the current Cenozoic Era by surviving on continents that split and drifted across the prehistoric world and even made it through the ice age period two million years ago.

2] Profile of the family Crocodylidae: It’s all about true crocodiles.

Taxonomy of extant crocodiles.

This largest living reptile in the world even links to the nearest living relatives of the birds and other reptiles. Crocodiles belong to the order Crocodilia, which includes other reptiles such as alligators, caimans, and gharials in current taxonomy. Although the term crocodile is loosely used to include all of these reptiles, only crocodiles are considered ‘true crocodiles’ belonging to the family Crocodylidae, which consists of 16 species and 6 extinct species, along with two subfamilies, Crocodylinae and Osteolaeminae. The crown group, subfamily Crocodylinae, is composed of the last common ancestor of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) and Dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis). The following grid depicts some major crocodile species.

Common nameScientific name
West African Slender-snouted CrocodileMecistops cataphractus
Central African Slender-snouted CrocodileMecistops leptorhynchus
American CrocodileCrocodylus acutus
Australian Freshwater CrocodileCrocodylus johnstoni
Cuban CrocodileCrocodylus rhombifer
Dwarf CrocodileOsteolaemus tetraspis
 Osborn’s Dwarf CrocodileOsteolaemus osborni
Morelet’s CrocodileCrocodylus moreletii
Mugger CrocodileCrocodylus palustris
New Guinea Freshwater CrocodileCrocodylus novaeguineae
Nile CrocodileCrocodylus niloticus
West African CrocodileCrocodylus suchus **
Orinoco CrocodileCrocodylus intermedius
Philippine CrocodileCrocodylus mindorensis
Saltwater CrocodileCrocodylus porosus
Siamese CrocodileCrocodylus siamensis

II] Distribution:

Crocodiles are globally distributed natively, except in Europe. Those semi-aquatic giants can be seen in the humid tropical regions of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, including most of the African countries—South Africa, Sahara, and Madagascar—as well as in Asia—India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and all around the Pacific region—the East Indies, Northern Australia, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and the northern part of South America.

III] Habitat:

This largest and heaviest living reptile is mostly dominant in tropical aquatic habitats and a few coastal areas. As a semi-aquatic species that live in both land and freshwater, it can be seen in such freshwater habitats as lakes, rivers, and wetlands, as well as brackish water in mangrove ecosystems, which is less salty than seawater. Apart from that, the largest crocodile saltwater crocodiles of Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands often live in coastal areas. The African Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), the largest crocodile, and the estuarine/saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) of Southeast Asia and Australia are some of the examples of saltwater crocodiles.

IV]Conservation status:

According to the sources, there are about 16 known extant species and 6 extinct species. Some population recovery programs, such as enhancement of national protection, habitat conservation, and international regulation of trade, have allowed slightly improved half of the remaining 16 species, which now have a small chance of extinction. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the current threatened status of some of the crocodile species is shown above.

3] Cryptic appearance of the giant reptiles:

 I] Characteristics and adaptations:

As the etymology suggests, crocodiles have a very similar outer anatomical structure to that of lizards. Their morphological features act as a wearable cryptic hide, which allows them to be very successful camouflaged predators and to live an amphibious way of life in semi-aquatic habitats.  The presence of an elongated body, a long muscular tail, clawed webbed limbs, and a streamlined-shaped skull provides a high thrust against the viscosity of the surrounding water. Nictitating membranes that can be drawn over the eyes while the eyelids are open underwater and a palatal flap composed of rigid tissue at the back of its mouth to shut its nostrils when the creature is underwater are indeed factors that allow them to keep their vision while submerged in the water.  Meanwhile, the presence of eyelids that resemble those of humans, along with large, rounded green eyes, nostrils with chemoreceptors, and ears with well-developed tympanic membranes, is concealed by flat flaps that are located in the same plane at the top of the head, and this further facilitates having acute sensations about their prey in submerged life.

Figure 09: Acute vision of Crocs

Their skin is well-scaled, which prevents dehydration during daytime sunbathing on the land, while a thick bony plate in the back provides the mechanical strength for their movement. Greyish-green skin colour patterns resembling to blackish, coastal and saltwater habitats have an extreme camouflage capacity.     As a well-known aggressive predator, their mouth has powerful jaws with 60–110 sharp conical teeth to capture and slice prey. All crocodiles have a relatively long snout, or muzzle, which varies considerably in shape and proportion. The V-shaped, wide snout is the most significant feature which is used to distinguish the crocodile species. Due to their large gape and large snout, they have the largest and most powerful [5,000 pounds of pressure per square inch] bite among animals in the animal kingdom, and it is 10 times bigger than the usual bite of a human. Moreover, the mouth has relatively less powerful jaw-opening muscles, which enable us to hold the mouth open with our bare hands.

Figure 12: Man holding the large gape of a crocodile

II] Brotherhood of Crocodiles, alligators and gharials – Comparison of alligators, crocodiles and Gharials.

As mentioned before, the term crocodile is loosely used to represent all of these alligators, caimans, gharials and crocodiles. But only crocodiles are considered the ‘true crocodile’ belonging to the family Crocodylidae. True crocodiles are easily distinguishable from caimans and gharials and distinguishing them from alligators is morphologically feasible. But it would be quite tricky. The most distinguished features of alligators and crocodiles for proper identification are as follows:

  1. A distinct V-shaped narrow snout, tan or olive skin, and more aggressive behaviour help to distinguish these creatures from alligators.
  2. Crocodiles are much larger than alligators as well. This large body size contributes to their remarkable bite force. Crocodiles are generally a little more aggressive, and they are often larger and stronger than gators too.
  3. Alligators have a wide, U-shaped snout, while crocodiles have a pointed, V-shaped snout.
  4. In addition, visible lower jaw teeth are a feature in crocodiles even when their mouths are closed.
Figure 13: Morphological Difference between a Crocodile and an Alligator.
Figure 14: Alligator [right] and Crocodile [left]

III] Biology and Behavioral adaptations

This species mostly prefers aquatic habitats over terrestrial land. As nocturnal species, Crocodiles have evolved with various behavioural adaptations to survive successfully in both habitats.  

  1. For example, some species of crocodiles inhabited in brackish or saltwater environments, have salt glands located on their tongues. These glands allow them to excrete excess salt from their bodies, enabling them to survive in environments with high levels of salinity. Because of their salt glands, crocodiles, unlike alligators, have the unique ability to tolerate high levels of salt.
  2. Additionally, Crocodiles have specialized adaptations for thermoregulation. This allows these ectothermic [cold–blooded] creatures, which change their body temperature according to the temperature of the external environment, to regulate their body temperature during harsh temperature conditions in their habitat.
    • When it is too hot, they utilize the available mud as sun cream and a moisturizer to prevent dehydration, while at lower temperatures, they sunbathe and totally rely on the sun for the heat.
  3. As a reptile, Crocodiles usually don’t sweat, and instead, they expel the excess heat to cool themselves down utilizing the ‘’mouth gaping” technique [opening of large mouths]. Therefore, the opening of the mouth is an indication of their resting position rather than their aggressive behaviour.
  4. Another interesting adaptation of these creatures is estivation. Crocodiles in arid environments may undergo estivation to reduce water loss. During estivation, crocodiles bury themselves in mud to retain moisture in their bodies until the conditions of their habitat improve. During this period, they have a very slow metabolism, which enables them to reduce their suffering from hunger and survive for long periods without any diet.
  5. Despite their slow movement, as a nocturnal top predator, they have a striking and powerful quick attack on the prey due to their sharp receptionist ability and the following features:
    • As an opportunistic nocturnal animal, they have sharp night vision to capture prey and see in the dark. 
    • The translucent (clear) eyelid beneath the eyes allows their eyes to prevent debris, and as a response to aggressive behaviour that appears in a fight or capturing prey, crocodiles have the potential to pull their eyeballs back into their sockets.
  6. Walking alone with their four short limbs and respiration via lungs is another of the most striking behaviours to adapt to the land. Under the water, they have the capacity to hold their breath for more than an hour.
  7. Crocodiles are swimming up to about 35 km per hour and use their long tails to propel themselves fast through the water. However, it is a well-known myth that they walk fast on the land.
  8. After the diet, usually, it swallows up small stones (known as ‘gastroliths’) and allows it to grind up the hard shells and bones of tougher and larger prey. In addition, crocodiles have a high rate of acid secretion in the stomach, unlike other vertebrates.
  9. The expression ‘crocodile tears’ is usually used as a phrase to indicate the presence of false emotion, and it derives from the behaviour of crocodiles shedding tears while they eat their prey.
  10. Crocodiles can usually develop 4,000 teeth [50 times] as a replacement for the 80 loose teeth over a lifetime.
  11. To maintain their social group crocs, use several communication techniques via their vocalization. Adults can hiss or growl at each other, while babies can squeak and grunt for their parents as a warning signal for survival.
  12. Sleeping with one wide open eye is another significant behaviour of crocodiles, which allows them to prevent accidents during their resting period.

4] Diet:

Crocodiles are well-developed large carnivores and ambush predators in freshwater habitats. Normally, their heavy meat diet consists of fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, and large mammals. It is noticed that in crocodiles, where thousands of crocodiles compact together in a small area, there is cannibalism while eating the small crocodiles. In 2013, some studies showed that farm crocodiles enjoyed eating fruits, especially during the summer. Crocodiles are also known to be scavengers who feed on carcasses and steal meat from other predators. Their diverse diet also changes with species and habitat levels.

For instance,

Freshwater fish – Slender – snouted crocodiles, freshwater crocodiles

Larger mammals [ buffalo, deer, and wild boar] – Nile crocodile, saltwater crocodile.

5] Reproduction
Despite their frightening reputation, female crocodiles, unlike other reptiles, go beyond the norm when it comes to taking care of their young ones. They lay eggs in nests made of mud. Incubation lasts for about 65 to 95 days. These females are extremely protective of their young ones. An interesting fact about crocodile embryos is that they do not have a sex assigned genetically; rather, their sexes are dependent upon the temperature at incubation. Typically, at a lower temperature, the hatchlings are female, whereas at higher temperatures, they are male. These hatchlings are carried away by the female into the water, and in the water, she trains them to eat. Whenever the mother crocodile is not around to care for the young, the father steps in. Even with all this complex parental care, young crocodiles have a high mortality rate.

Figure 19: eggs of crocodiles

6] Services of this top predator: ecological contribution

The fascinating lifestyle of crocodiles contributes to maintaining the ecological balance of nature. Their hunting capabilities make them top predators in the food chain. By doing so, they help keep the prey populations in check. Moreover, the nests crocodiles build are used by other animals in their surroundings; thereby, these creatures act as ecological engineers. Apart from that, crocodiles are also considered indicator species, and their population serves as an indicator of the functioning of an ecosystem.

7] The Red lights for Apex largest aquatic predators: Threats for crocodiles

  1. The Cruelty Behind the Crocodile Industry: Crocodile farms  
Figure 20: Some commercial facts about the crocodile industry

This paragraph will solely collaborate with a statement on the first page about the crocodile industry, which is the current hot topic in the fashion industry and fashion weeks. The Crocodile Industry is a well-known animal overconsumption commercial field which usually involves poaching and illegal hunting of crocodiles and commercially available crocodile farms done to obtain the skin used in Haute couture (French for ‘high sewing’ or ‘high dressmaking’] cloth lines and accessories like handbags, belts, and wallets. Most of the time, the meat of the killed crocodiles in those farms is used as a product to further gather profitable outcomes.

On those farms, crocodiles are bred to be slaughtered and killed for their expensive hide and meat in four ways:

  • Captive breeding means breeding the crocodiles in separate tanks or capturing the species from the wild.
  • Killing the adult crocodiles very brutally while they are alive in slaughterhouses.
  • Removal of their skins dried the skin and tanned the dried skin.
  • Used the remaining meat as a by-product for the nutrition of humans.

Thailand, Australia and some Zimbabwe-like African countries are the major suppliers of crocodile exotic skins. But a farmer in the UK also made headlines for maintaining a crocodile farm due to its high demand, making him the first person to maintain a crocodile farm in the history of the UK. Thailand is the leading country in the crocodile exotic skin trade, maintaining around one million animals on 20 mega-farms and around 1,000 farms in total. The term ‘Ranching’ is used to define specimens taken from the wild, for the purposes of trade’. In fact, those ranching farms are known as sustainable industries since they are involved in the release of some of the well-developed crocodiles back into the wild as compensation for the reduced croc population in the wild.

Figure 23: World’s most expensive exotic leather bag – BIRKIN DIAMOND HIMALAYAN Handbag

However, the hide of the crocodile is one of the famous exotic skins used by major fashion brands like Hermes, Louis Vuitton, etc. And those companies maintain their own farms in above mentioned countries. Those brands have a high demand for exotic crocodile skin bags due to their unique natural scale pattern from the wild and their high durability and customized craftsmanship. Not all the parts of the crocodile skin are suitable for the designs and the factories usually utilize more than 2 whole crocodile skins to produce one exotic skin bag. Thereby, the price tag of a crocodile skin bag can usually be sold out for more than $50,000. For instance, BIRKIN DIAMOND HIMALAYAN exotic leather bag has a price tag of up to $45,000 and even has higher demand in several auctions. Therefore, most of the time, people used to buy that stuff to symbolize their wealth and as a secondary investment in their lives.

However, the thing is that even though it is possible to have a legal croc farm, it triggers poachers to hunt wild crocodiles due to its high demand. In fact, PETA investigators released a YouTube video which showed animal cruelty and how animals were tortured when they were killed via “Necks Cut Open and Rods Rammed Down Spines While Alive’’ and it triggered the recent spotlight that emerged against those factories. According to the statement on 1st page, so many crocodiles are packed together in a small area while limiting their basic conditions to live.

Apart from that, some other anthropogenic activities indirectly or directly involve reducing the breeding sites of the crocodile population. 

  

2. Anthropogenic activities

  • Deforestation and habitat loss

Ex; Logging

  • Construction activities

Ex; Drainage of wetlands, dredging of coastal wetlands, wetland filling done for agriculture and urbanization

  • River diversion and water extraction for agricultural purposes
  • Ex; Siltation of rivers, Construction of Dams and barrages, conversion of forest to agricultural land, Use of river banks for human activities
  • Sand-mining along rivers
  • Illegal inland Fishing activities

Throwing explosives into the water is an illegal fishing technique used by some of the inland fisheries. This poisonous explosive can kill or disturb the crocodiles and, in some cases, young crocs can be entangled in fish nets.

  • Pollution of water bodies due to the release of industrial wastes.
  • human-wildlife conflict where crocodiles are killed disproportionately as they prey on livestock by humans to protect their farm.
  • Producing antibiotic drugs like oxytetracycline on crocodile farms.
  • Other threats.
  • Climate change [ex; Global warming]
  • Diseases: e.g., crocodile pox
  • Invasive species

Invasive plants in aquatic systems can constrict and block the waterways, reduce prey food abundance, and retard the movement of the crocs in the area. Further, in some areas, crocodiles struggle to coexist with invasive python species.

8] Conservation of the world’s crocodilians

So, it is our duty to protect these ancient creatures. These are steps we can take to protect them.

  • Community awareness programmes on the conservation of crocodiles.

By spreading awareness among the general public, we enable community-based conservation, where each rural community takes on the responsibility of protecting endangered animals in their locality. This can be done through awareness programs conducted targeting communities in which endangered crocodile species inhabit. For instance, a success story on community-based conservation was recorded in a jungle village in the Cardamom mountains of Cambodia. The Siamese crocodile species was thought to be extinct in the early 1900s as a result of extensive hunting done for its meat and skin. But later, a scattered population of 200 Siamese crocodiles were rediscovered in the Cardamom region. Since then, the locals conducted regular patrols to protect these rare species from poachers. This potential comeback of Siamese crocodiles is considered Cambodia’s most successful community-based conservation effort.

  • Conducting research on sustainable development and monitoring endangered crocodile species in captive breeding centres

The UK had already Opened their only crocodile zoo in March 2011 – for the conservation and captive breeding of crocodile species.

Figure 24: Founder of UK’s only croc zoo –Shaun Foggett

“Our achievements over the last 10 years have far exceeded all my expectations. I had a vision that I wanted to help facilitate crocodile conservation and educate the public about these incredible animals. In the first year at Crawley Mill we had 7,000 visitors, in 2019 we have over 90,000 visitors. Over the last 10 years we’ve had around half-a-million visitors, including school visits, and so if we’ve sparked an interest into crocodiles, perhaps inspired croc keepers or conservationists of the future, then that’s just incredible.”

Shaun Foggett
  • Introducing new laws and reforming some policies of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

This can be done by pressuring governments to enact laws to impose restrictions on crocodile hunting and to take harsh punitive measures against illegal hunting and trading of exotic skin.  

  • Protesting against the use of exotic skins at an industrial scale while introducing alternative synthetic leather for more vegan products.

As mentioned before, PETA has been continuously protesting and investigating the use of animal skin in global fashion weeks. As a result in 2018, channel, fashion brands already declared the banning of animal fur and skin. This is sort of a monumental victory for animals’ rights and ethics on behalf of their suffering in this industry. Recently some celebrities have influenced the use of vegan leather bags in collaboration with PETA.

Figure 27: Crocodile campaign Posters of PETA

In conclusion, this World Crocodile Day is an important reminder to all of us of the necessity to protect these ancient, majestic creatures and to take steps in the right direction to initiate conservation efforts. June 17th is the golden day for raising global awareness and highlighting the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world each year. However, it is still pathetic to see croc skin attire and accessories around the streets in Paris during fashion weeks in June. So it is still up to us to decide whether we are continuing this croc trend and making crocodiles the fashion victims.

Written by;

Zainab Azar

1st Year Undergraduate

Biological Science

Ravini Sushmika

4th Year Undergraduate

Zoology Hons.

Faculty of Science,

University of Colombo

References:


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