why are crocodiles important?

Question

bcuz they were endangered....so i was just wonderin...

Answer 1

Alligators and crocodiles both fill the same niche in their ecosystems, I'm talking alligators, but really, in this post, it can be substituted either way....

When they hatch, they are small enough for anything that wants a bit of protien to take as a meal. Alligators are food for raccoons, hawks, owls, osprey, eagles, bass, snapping turtles, herons, egrets, otters, etc. etc.

Adult alligators are actually a theft deterrent for bird rookeries. True, nestlings that fall out of their trees are a meal, but they'd be a meal for anything else that wanted them as well. Having an alligator or crocodile around your rookery island will keep the raccons and other nest-robbers from sneaking in.

When an adult alligator or crocodile takes a meal, the prey item will be torn apart, with much of it going to fish, birds, and turtles. Alligators only eat about 50 times a year on average in the wild, so they actually feed more animals than they eat.

Alligators like to have a deepish area to live in, and will even wallow out a gator hole in the marsh. During droughts, these are often the only places that still have enough water to support fish and other wildlife.


This isn't even starting on their economical importances, I can talk about those too, if you want.

Edited to add....

Jeff, it's a tried and true method, but I think it has more to do with larger size for taking down larger prey. The biggest thing alligators have had to pull down is whitetail deer, and here in Florida, those are pretty scrawny. Get into places like africa where there's antelope and wildebeest, and other excessively large prey items and this is what a Nile croc thinks when it sees a person (Or any other large croc species)


Hey, what's that thing? I dunno, but it's not too big, and it doesn't have hooves and horns, doesn't run very fast, and it probably can't swim too good either. I'll try it.

Answer 2

you won't be in a position to work out an alligator's tooth whilst that's mouth is closed; its decrease tooth in positive condition snugly into pits contained in the top jaw. in assessment, a crocodile's decrease tooth are continually seen. Alligators have a extensive snout, whilst crocodiles have a thinner snout. Alligators tend to be grayish black in colour, while crocodiles have a gentle tan visual charm. Alligators can in straight forward terms be stumbled on contained in the southeastern u . s . and in some areas of China. Crocodiles may be stumbled on international huge. contained in the wild, alligators tend to run away. whilst no longer precisely wallflowers, they actually choose their own business corporation. some species of crocodiles, on the different hand, have mythical tempers. The Salt Water Crocodile and the Nile Crocodile have been oftentimes occurring to consume human beings. for sure, those 2 creatures have extra in consumer-friendly than no longer. Alligators, caimans, crocodiles, and gharials are all reported as crocodilians, and the final 25 years have been very style to them.

Answer 3

I would say that alligators and crocodiles fill similar but slightly different niches. Crocodiles feeding on more land animals than alligators. Which is what gives rise to the old addage walk up to it and poke it with a stick...If it races back into the water its an alligator, if it rips our arm off its probably a crocodile.

This was an old joke told to me by a herpetologist almost thirty years ago.

Answer 4

crocodillians are what are known as keystone speices in their environments the help to maintain a proper balance of all of the animals throughout their ecosystems one major difference between a keystone species and an apex predator if you remove a keystone species from an ecosystem the ecosystem atleast in theory would spiral into chaos and self destruct if you remove an apex predator something else will likely fill the gap in the ecosystem.

Answer 5

They are good for food as long as don't endanger. Eat a lot of them in LA and TX.

Answer 6

They fill in important niche in their ecosystem.

Answer 7

quality,and quantity control
they eat the slow ,stupid and sick and exessive
important agents in the equilibrium of Nature

Answer 8

they are used 4 skin on leather bags and sumtimes butt warmers in ur car..they keep the food chain going