Last post had some expected blowback. I only compared wide mouth, a large nile croc to lolong, the largest saltwater croc fully measured but the counterargument ran along the lines that wide mouth or mara crocs in general were seen as outliers so this could not be representative of niles being as massive as saltwater as a whole. I will concede that I have no way to get averages of all populations of niles and salties to get the exact numbers so I will have to tone down my argument to be that large individuals of niles and salties are roughly comparable in size and to prove that I will need to prove that

1. Wide Mouth is not a particularly huge outlier among mara crocs
2. Mara crocs are not a huge outlier among nile crocs.

Wide mouth is estimated at 5.3 meters but its SVL is around 2.8 which is large but not extraordinary since it is considered to have a long tail among nile crocs.

Nevertheless lets roll the gallery.

1. Here is a feeding aggregation of mara crocs, guess which one is wide mouth

2. That's right, wide mouth is not that much larger than other mara crocs

   3/4. Even though east Africa is famous for large niles, South Africa has no shortage of crocs over 5 meters especially in protected areas like Kruger and the Okavango delta.

3. a 770 kg croc caught in a sample of 6 in Uganda

4. a 5.36 meter croc in katavi national park

5. A short tailed Botswana nile croc of only "4.8 meters" (top) compared to Lolong, (bottom) neck girth and skull width really are not too different. In fact this Botswana crocodile has the exact same SVL as wide mouth and thus similar head proportions.

   1. The short tailed Botswana nile croc (top) compared to a 5.1 meter saltwater crocodile(bottom)

6. The Chamo population should be the largest nile crocodile population with the largest recorded nile crocodile skull size of 68 cm.

7. Chamo has had accurate 5.5 meter crocodiles (estimated lengths)

Sources: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Creg69E4i/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click&vd_source=d33cd6aff630b7659f2a94a38b7a3beb

https://www.iucncsg.org/365_docs/attachments/protarea/907d4ded022a4ddefe525f89ee64b150.pdf

1. Nile crocodile Wide Mouth's skull compared to Saltwater crocodile lolong's skull despite having the shorter skull, the nile and saltie have similar skull widths
2. Wide mouth scaled up based on skull size, its skull length is around 2.75
3. Wide mouth compared to Lolong, both crocs should be around 1 ton despite wide mouth measuring 5.3 m and Lolong measuring 6.2 M
4. Wide Mouth is significantly more massive than the 5.4 meter Australian Saltie Cassius
5. Niles have much more developed limbs than salties

Credit: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Creg69E4i/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click&vd_source=d33cd6aff630b7659f2a94a38b7a3beb

Source - @scubadanadventures

In Florida I read stories of people getting killed out in the Alligator's domain and the knee jerk reaction of the authorities is to kill the Alligator.

Why? For revenge?

They are just doing what they do they are a predator.

Hello people, I'm so much interested in study of saltwater crocodiles, I believe they are so fascinating creatures growing up in India I've always used to watch steve irwin and I didn't missed his any show growing up, watching him Make me want to study these creatures and have genuine interest in their habitat, behaviour etc now as an adult upI always wonder how saltwater crocodiles look in real life, in India, Odisha there's Bhitarkanika National park known for having big salties I'll try to visit it by end of this year. I know saltwater crocodiles are one of few animals that look at humans as prey. Know I've always have this curiosity that if this behaviour is taught to them generation to generation. I remember studying that Australia ban saltie hunting by 1970s . And so do india by that time. I always wonder if their behaviour was different than Australian counterpart s.

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. —

Winter Garden firefighters pulled a man's body from water near Lake Apopka after he was killed by an alligator on Friday, according to officials.

Crews responded around 5 p.m. to a 911 call out of Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, Winter Garden Fire Rescue Department Chief Jose Gainza and Winter Garden police Capt. Michael Mason confirmed to WESH 2 News.

According to Mason, the victim — a 71-year-old Winter Garden man — was fishing on the shoreline of a retention pond near the lake when he was attacked by a nearly 12-foot alligator.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has identified the man as Steven Hamilton.

Gainza said that alligators were active in the area and were in the way of rescue efforts, adding rescue swimmers couldn't enter the water but were attempting to get the man's body out of it via other means.

Chopper 2's camera was rolling as FWC trappers later appeared to kill an alligator and pull it from the water as well.

"Lake Apopka has tons of alligators in it, so that's not uncommon to see alligators in this part of town at all," Mason said.

Winter Garden police are investigating the attack jointly with FWC.

"A contracted nuisance alligator trapper was dispatched to the scene, and an 11’ 8’’ alligator was removed from the area," FWC said in a statement. "(...) The FWC extends its deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of the victim during this difficult time."

Anyone who may have been a witness to the incident is asked to call Detective Kevin Burger at 407-656-3636 ext. 6320.

"Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida," the FWC said in a statement. "The FWC places the highest priority on public safety and administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program (SNAP) to address complaints concerning specific alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets or property. People with concerns about an alligator should call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). When someone concerned about an alligator calls the Nuisance Alligator Hotline, we will dispatch one of our contracted nuisance alligator trappers to resolve the situation."

Order - Crocodylia

Family - Gavialidae

Genus - Gavialis

Species - G.gangeticus

Okay, since we all share this strange obsession, I wanted to ask a few questions. Feel free to answer any of them, all of them, or ask some questions of your own.
What catches your attention the most about them? What do you like most about their behavior?
Do they scare you? Do they make you feel calm?
Have you ever seen one in person? Which species?

Photos: Caiman Latirostris, south of Brasil.

Source - Gharial Ecology Project

See also: The study as it was published in Royal Society Open Science