Reproduction

During the dry season a female will begin to build a nest using leaves, twigs and soils. Eggs are carried in the belly of the female for 2-3 months before being deposited into the nest. A clutch includes 15-26 eggs. Both the male and female will take turns to watch the nest.

After 65-85 days the young Philippines crocodile will hatch. The mother will spend time caring for the hatchlings.

Like many other crocodilians there is evidence that the gender of a Philippine crocodiles eggs are determined by the age at which they are incubated.

Maturity is reached at 1.5m (4.9ft) with an average weight at this time being 15kg (33lb).

Behavior

During the day Philippine crocodiles will rest in the sun to warm up. When they become too hot they open their mouth which helps to release some of the heat.

These crocodiles can float on the surface of the water. To control buoyancy they are able to ingest stones.

In the wild they are believed to be solitary. When currents are high they have been seen to congregate in shallow ponds. When housed together in captivity they are highly aggressive towards one another.

Predators and Threats

The population of Philippine crocodiles has been recorded to number just 92 to 137 individuals and continues to reduce. A number of captive breeding projects are being conducting in hopes of restoring the population.

Since 2001 this species has been given legal protection within its natural range.

Their decline has been brought about through use of their habitat, persecution due to a perceived threat and entanglement in fishing nets. Luckily harvesting for the skin trade has mostly stopped though some captive individuals are still traded.

Quick facts

The Philippine crocodile is also known as the Mindoro crocodile.

Until recently the Philippine crocodile was classed as a subspecies of the New Guinea crocodile.