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April 2, 2005
Math Activity 1 - Leapin' Lizards
Crocodiles are survivors from the dinosaur age. A crocodile then looked very much like it does now. Crocodiles belong to a reptile family that did not become extinct like most dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
The features of the crocodile today are very similar to what they were 15 million years ago. A crocodile's armor-plated skin is made up of tough scales called scutes. These are reinforced from bony plates just below the surface.
Prehistoric crocodiles were giants, some up to 40 feet (13 meters) long! They preyed on other reptiles, including small dinosaurs. Other prehistoric crocodiles were as small as lizards.
Crocodiles have been honored throughout history. Egyptians in the town of Crocodilopolis had a crocodile god. The ancient Egyptian god of water, Sobek, was in the shape of a crocodile. Alligators, from the same reptilian family as crocodiles, got their name from 'el lagarto,' the Spanish word for lizard!
The estuarine (saltwater) crocodile from Australia, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia is the biggest of all crocs! This massive croc is the only one to swim in the sea. They live in estuaries along the coast and can grow BIGGGGG! The largest saltwater crocodile on record was 27 feet (9 meters) in length and weighed two tons!
With the coming of the European colonists, crocodile habitats became crowded with humans. Both enjoyed the living conditions along the Australian coastal areas. Unfortunately, they couldn't cohabitate as both were creating a problem for the other! No only did crocodiles hunt their prey from the rivers as animals came to drink, they also have the ability to leap as much as 9 feet (3 meters) out of the water after a meal! Crocs began feeding on livestock and then humans nearly hunted the crocs out of existence.
In 1972, crocodile hunting was banned in Australia. It is believed that around 270,000 saltwater crocodile skins and between 200,000 and 300,000 freshwater crocodile skins were exported from Australia before the ban. To meet consumer needs for their meat and their skins, crocodile farms now raise crocs. Poaching of these reptiles has become less of a problem. The croc farms have also become a major tourist attraction, especially at feeding time!
Vocabulary
export
poacher
cohabitate
estuary
prey
ban
Materials
graph paper
colored pencils
clip art to supplement text and graphs
resource material about crocodile and alligator habits and habitats
Procedure:
Based on information collected about similarities and differences between crocodiles and alligators, create a graph, chart or table to display the information. Discuss physical characteristics, i.e. length, shape, eating habits, etc.
Use pictures, drawings, or photographs to enhance your graphs or charts and to highlight features.
Determine suitable intervals for your graph, i.e. crocodile lengths compared to alligator lengths. Use either metric or standard measurements to represent the information.
Use these links to help you research:
Crocodiles.com>
Aborginal Crocs
Marine Bio
Species List
Alligators & Crocs
Posted by april at April 2, 2005 4:52 PM
Comments
Click here and choose open to see our graph
American 15000
Slender-snouted 50000
Orinoco 1000
Australian Freshwater 75000
Philippine 175
Morelets 15000
Nile 375000
New Guinea 75000
Mugger 7500
Estuarine 250000
Cuban 4500
Siamese 5000
African Dwarf 37500
False Gharial 2500
Croc Graph
In this paragraph I’ll tell you about Croc populations and the most common crocodile and the least common crocodile. Also about the graph I’ll tell you about the graph. The most common is the Nile, and the least is the Philippine. There are 14 different species of crocs. The graph has a key for the different kinds of crocodiles. I know that you enjoy the math project, as it is very exiting and thrilling.
Posted by: Dalton, Sam, Tim, Jamie at April 29, 2005 5:25 PM
Click Here and Choose Open to see our graph.
The title is “Species of crocs and their populations”. The reason we made this was to show how endangered crocodile species have become. We have six kinds of crocs: Australian Salt Water Croc, Philippine Crocodile, Siamese Croc, Chinese Croc, Cuvier’s Dwarf Croc, and American Croc. Those are the six species of crocodiles that we included on our graph. We would like to explain that Philippine and Chinese Crocodiles are so lowly populated that they don’t even show on the graph. The Cuvier’s Dwarf Croc is so immensely populated that it stretches the whole way of the graph.
-Thank you
submitted by Gage, Holly, Ty, Taylor, Will, Chelsy,and Clay
Posted by: Gage at April 28, 2005 8:48 PM
In 1980, people were killing crocs for leather, boots, and all kind of other stuff. In 1990, there were less than
1,000 crocs. Now there are more than
3,000 and they were very territorial. If you even go close to them, they will
kill you because they feel that you
are going to kill them.
Now that crocs are protected there are many more.
This graph submitted by Ty V., Beth H., Shelby P. & Nate C.
Posted by: Beth H. at April 19, 2005 9:22 PM
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