interesting I havent herd of a proven hybrid of the Morlets or anyone who would hybridize a crocodile that is that rare in the wild. genetic diversity is key so as a breeder that would make the animal genetically pointless.
crocodilian questions
- Thread starter reptilerancher
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oh, I agree, but if he wants money and he doesn't have time to get a mate, he could be the type of guy that would just breed it to anything and sell them as whatever he says they are..
I wasn't aware the Morlett's was endangered...I can think of at least a dozen species that are more scarce
oh, ok...I just went and read up on all the species to double-check. Found out some cool stuff too but with good news comes bad news:
1.)the critically endangered Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis) has been breeding successfully for the past 10-15 years in captivity and went from about 250-500 individuls to currently in the 10,000-15,000 range
2.)The African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) is not DD (Data Deficient) anymore and the population is considered "vulnerable", but solid. They are also in the works of classifying a sub-species, the Congo Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis osborni) and are convinced it is different than O.t.tetraspis
3.) A new species of crocodile in west Africa has been discovered, once thought to simply have been a different locale of Nile crocs, currently called the "Desert Crocodile" or "West African Crocodile" (Crocodylus suchus)
4.) The American Crocodile, False Gharial, Yacare Caiman, Black Caiman, and Philippines Crocodile have or are making a comeback, some have even been moved off the Endangered list.
5.) The African Slender-snouted Crocodile (Crocodylus cataphractus) was moved from D.D. to CE - Critically Endangered, and has also been reclassified from Crocodylus to Mecistops.
6.) The remaining of the endangered crocs, particularly the Cuban, Orinoco, Siamese, and Indian Gharial (Gavial) remain struggling as they did in the past 10-50 years.
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morlets are on the red list listed as CONSERVATION DEPENDENT with a population of 10-20 thousand so not quite endangered but not very well off. It is cool that the "new species" of nile(more of a sub-species) is also known as the sacred crocodile they tend to get smaller then the main stream niles but sadly to my knowledge most were killed as food and target practice when some of the countries with crucial habitat for the crocs went to war.
I think what we have seen is the majority of crocs can be bred extensively with some skill and patience, but the last 4 I mentioned are still very much a mystery as far as breeding (at least in mass quantities) and restabilizing the populations. Even if there are 10,000-20,000 I'd like to think we have caught it in time and efforts can be taken earlier than was done with species that were on the verge of extinction like the Phillipines, Yacare, American crocodile, Chinese alligator, etc.
The Indian Gavial has been bred extensively, at least a good 5,000 in captivity, but the issue with them is reintroducing them to the wild and "seeding" the ones we released in an area they will flourish and breed on their own. Apparently their are wild populations where no breeding takes place - I'm assuming this must be some type of migratory locale or simply all the same sex. Your guess is as good as mine.
with indian gharials its a problem finding good breeding habitat.They need sand bars and because of the human population and its affects on the river flooding washes them away there is a video of close to 500 baby gharials on one little sand bank. the problem isn't with breeding adults its with the eggs and babes surviving without that habitat.
What are your thoughts on rectifying that situation, because you basically just said exactly what I read last night and I think it makes survival very difficult for an otherwise highly adapted species that just seems to have a rather troublesome handicap. Sometimes I look at Indian Gharials and I swear they should almost still have FLIPPERS. Watching them try to move on land, you can't help but feel bad for them
Perhaps large areas of wetlands and deep-pooled riverine environments need to be dedicated wildlife sanctuary and "terraformed" by humans to their favor? I can think of no other options if they have been run out of 90% of their range and it has been turned into crops and rice paddies. You?
Unfortunatley, that still leaves the other big 3 that are Critically Endangered - Orinoco, Siamese and Phillipines......and now the African Slender-snouted crocodile as well.
you shouldn't feel bad for an animal for the way it looks it is very well adapted to its river environment.The indian gaharial is protected in many river systems in india but it is one of the highest population countries in the world and peoples need for water outweighs the need for crocodiles. as far as the other ones go wild habitat is key. the more people that use the land the less places for crocs and other animals to live. as far as changing habitat back to what it was before human interaction for rivers you would need to remove all people from the water shed.But at least with captive breeding we can keep the species alive and hopefully with a large genetically divers population in captivity there would a chance to re-stabalize a wild population. if there was enough habitat.
we have also wandered off topic.It was crocodilians in private hands and what the laws were and for people to post pics.
we have also wandered off topic.It was crocodilians in private hands and what the laws were and for people to post pics.
Yea, I know we sort of wandered, but it is still important discussion, and this is really good stuff. Anyone who cares about crocs will find this interesting and enjoy this read. The more we understand about crocs in the wild and in general, the BETTER we can improve our captive husbandry and raise and breed healthier specimens, agreed?
Let's not forget, there are a vast number of species that would be extinct right now if it were not for captive breeding - we're just fixing our own screw-ups, IMO, so to me, this actually IS very much still on-topic.
On a side note, just because the majority of the world would see it as unorthodox or worse, when I volunteered at St. Augustine Alligator Farm, they had all 4 of the little guys in a massive pen as a centerpiece for the park, several thousands of square feet containing dozens, maybe hundreds of Chinese Alligators, Siamese Crocodiles, West African Dwarf Crocodiles and Cuvier's Dwarf Caimans!!! Why would they house all 4 of these endangered species from 3 different continents together?
Well, because they had been producing so many of them that they needed a place big enough to keep them and it worked just fine for them. Unorthodoxed, depends......if you're going to sit there and tell the world's leading experts on croc and croc-breeding "they're doing it wrong" LOL TMK, they are the only ones in the world who possess and have successfully bred every extant species of crocodilian on Earth.
Just thought you guys might find that interesting. I literally saw all 4 species interacting healthy, basking together, feeding together, even laying on top of each other. When I asked the boss about it, she had a huge smile on her face when she said "Yup, we've been keeping them together for over 5 years" (back in 2006)
