A WELL SPOTTED CROCODILE

Normally when one says, "A WELL SPOTTED CROCODILE", people tend to think that its a name of the newly discoverly crocodile species. On the 27 March,I came across a young healthy crocodile basking into the sun on hppo grasses at the beginning of the Savute Marsh. I was shy but I managed to get this picture before before it dived into the channel deep end. For a long time we have wondering when the the crocodiles were going to arrive but now our curiosities are fullfilled beyond reasonable doubts. The other reasons why we were not be able to spot this fellow could be the fact that it could be the ony crocodile in the Savute Marsh. 

History on Croc Life and Water(Steve Irwin):

The group, which included the late Steve Irwin, better known as 'The Crocodile Hunter', spent a year studying 20 adult crocodiles in the Kennedy River in North Queensland, Australia. Implanted with acoustic devices that emit pulses through the water, the reptiles' movements were tracked by 20 receivers placed along a 63-kilometre stretch of the tidal river. The signals allowed the team to identify the crocodile, and determine its body temperature. The researchers compared their data with estimates of surface water currents from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia's national science agency. They found that eight crocodiles undertook a total of 42 long-distance journeys of more than 10 kilometres per day. In 96% of these trips, the reptiles travelled with the current flow. In contrast, the crocodiles were equally likely to travel with and against the current flow when making short journeys.

When the tide was against the crocodiles' direction of travel, their recorded body temperatures rose to around 32 ºC, suggesting they were basking in the sun on the riverbank. When the tide turned in their favour, their body temperatures dropped to 25 ºC, indicating that they were back in the water.

Looking at the above scientific research result,they surely  know when the current is flowing in the direction they want to travel. It is like they are purposeful. They also seem to be making a decision prior to the journey that they will travel with the current.

In the okavango delta where I was born there are certain area which are reached by water during the Okavango's flooding season and sometimes those areas stay with water from two to three years, but when they recieve water on a good flood year, it would take only a few months not more seven months before the massive reptiles started showing up.