Nile Crocodile

SANBI IDentifyIt - Species Nile Crocodile - Crocodylus niloticus Family CROCODYLIDAE NEMBA Status Protected CITES Listing Appendix II The CITES needs to be fully complied with in the trade if any part of the crocodile. Both the seller and the purchaser need to comply with CITES requirements and certification. Compliance is required to export skins from South Africa. CITES permits and tags on skin demonstrate that the skins are from farm bred animals and not illegally poached. Under CITES regulations all skins must be tagged. These tags give details of country origin, year of skinning and an individual number. This is necessary for the protection of wild crocodile populations. An approved CITES skin tag needs to to be attached to each skin as soon as is practicable after its removal from the crocodile carcass. This tag remains attached whether the skin is in an unprocessed or tanned state (that is, the tag remains attached to a whole skin during and after the tanning process). Tags are be locked to the final 5-10 cm (approximately) of the tail. To minimise the potential for tag 'loops' getting caught and tearing free of the skin during tanning, a hole is punched through the skin (not cut with a knife) and the tag attached and locked in a manner that reduces the size of the resulting 'loop'. Each skin must bear a skin tag upon export. A skin tag may be removed when the skin is cut into two or more major segments. A 'nick' cut in the side of a whole skin would not warrant tag removal - a skin cut into two equal halves or into multiple watch-strap strips would. Geographic location / distribution Wide distribution throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is also found on Madagascar Physical characteristics Size: Total length: 250-350cm (max: 590cm) hatchling length: +/- 31cm Weight: up to 1000kg Traded parts, derivatives and products Skins / hides used to make high-quality leather products such as purses, shoes, handbags; trophies; crocodile meat; certain parts of the crocodile, notably the gall bladder and penis, are used in traditional Oriental medicine - they are sold in dried form but the status of the market and possibilities for developing an export trade remain speculative. Crocodile oil, obtained from the fat, may also be saleable in the east. There is a small, limited demand for skulls/skeletons as biological specimens. Teeth and claws are also sold to primarily to tourists as curios. Threats Conflict with humans presents perhaps the greatest threat to the Nile crocodile. In addition, the Nile crocodile is popular for its skins, used to make high-quality leather, and hide hunting. References CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians: Guide to the Identification of Crocodilian Species Controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - Environment Canada. FAO Corporate Document Repository www.fao.org/docrep/006/t0226e/t0226e17.htm http://www1.american.edu/ted/NILECROC.HTM Photographer: Scotch Macaskill

Overlapping teeth, pitted scales around mouth and raised nostrils at tip of snout. Photographer: Adam Britton

Photographer: Norbert Nagel Photographer: Leigh Bedford Copyright/Website: CC BY 2.0 Photographer: Zachi Evenor

Photographer: Hans Hillewaert Copyright/Website: © Hans Hillewaert / CC-BY-SA-4.0

Photographer: H. Krisp Distribution of Nile Crocodile. Photographer: Achim Raschka

Nile Crocodile eggs. Photographer: Kevin Walsh

Nile Crocodile tail meat. Copyright/Website: www.ecotao.com Copyright/Website: www.liveauctioneers.com

Large male Nile Crocodile. Copyright/Website: www.ecotao.com

Sub-adult Nile crocodile. Photographer: Adam Britton Crocodile anatomy. Copyright/Website: CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians

Crocodile products. Copyright/Website: CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians Crocodile products. Copyright/Website: CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians

Fakes/Imitations. Copyright/Website: CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians

How to identify fakes/imitations. Copyright/Website: CITES Identification Guide – Crocodilians Juvenile Nile Crocodile. Photographer: Newt, Wikimedia Commons