Nile Crocodile - Size

Size

The Nile crocodile is the largest crocodilian in Africa and is sometimes regarded as the second-largest crocodilian after the saltwater crocodile. The male crocodile usually measure from 3.5 to 5 metres (11 to 16 ft) long, but very old, mature ones can grow to 5.5 m (18 ft) or more. Like all crocodiles they are sexually dimorphic, with the males up to 30% larger than the females, though the difference is even more in some species, like the saltwater crocodile. Mature female Nile crocodiles measure 2.4 to 4 m (7 ft 10 in to 13 ft 1 in). Typical Nile crocodile weight is from 225 to 500 kg (500 to 1,100 lb), though large males can range up to 750 kg (1,700 lb) in mass. The largest accurately measured male, shot near Mwanza, Tanzania, measured 6.47 m (21.2 ft) and weighed about 1,090 kg (2,400 lb).

Seven-meter specimens and larger have been reported, but since gross overestimation of size is common, these reports are suspect. The largest living specimen is purported to be a man-eater from Burundi named Gustave; he is believed to be more than 6.1 m (20 ft) long. Such giants are rare today; before the heavy hunting of the 1940s and 1950s, a larger population base and more extensive wetland habitats meant more giants.

Evidence exists of Nile crocodiles from cooler climates like the southern tip of Africa being smaller, and may reach lengths of only 4 m (13 ft). Dwarf Nile crocodiles also exist in Mali and in the Sahara Desert, which reach only 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) in length. Their reduced size is probably the result of the less than ideal environmental conditions, not genetics.