FARMING

Crocodile farming was for many year a growing industry in the world. Crocworld is farming with the most famous of the 23 known crocodile species the Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus). The park houses over 200 breeders in 6 big enclosures. We keep 6 female together with a single male crocodile. After each of the gravid female crocodiles found a suitable nesting site (most of the time the same site will be use by the same female crocodile.) they will dig a hole and lay their eggs in it. The brave staff will collect the eggs and take it to the incubator rooms were the eggs will be incubated for the about 80 days. When the 3500 hatchling are ready to hatch, they will be removed from the incubators and placed into a “hot room” where they will stay for about 2 days in a disinfected solutions.   After that period all the hatchling will be up for sale to any registered organization with the required permits in place.

BREEDING STOCK

Crocworld's breeding stock consists of crocodiles brought in from Botswana and the KwaZulu Natal Parks Board in the 1980's. There are over a hundred and fifty breeding females divided into 5 landscaped breeding pens.
Emphasis has been placed on recreating as natural an area as possible for the breeding crocodiles which adds greatly to the viewing experience

FEEDING

The breeding crocodiles are fed once a week, with feeding taking place every day at one of the selected pens. Rations are measured out according to the nutritional needs of the crocodiles. This results in the crocs being fed a variety of meats including small carcasses. Large crocodiles need to eat as little as 5kg of meat per month to thrive. During the winter months crocs do not actively feed as their metabolism is slowed by insufficient warmth. They are cold blooded reptiles. As the temperature increases, so does the amount of food consumed by the crocs.Note: Crocs do not prefer decaying or rotting meat as is commonly believed.

MATING

In the Southern Hemisphere the crocodiles start mating as early as May and continue through to August, but mating is not frequently observed. Crocodiles prefer mating at dawn and dusk. Mating takes place in the water in places where it is deep enough for the male to hold on to the female.

LAYING

The females randomly dig holes called test holes. This is how she picks her nest site. The nest is usually a soft elevated area a distance away from the water, often along the fences. A brooding crocodile is not a friendly one. Keep well clear. She will lay her clutch of eggs in a 40cm hole and tightly compact the nest with her hind legs. The eggs have a very strong outer layer which is not easily broken even by dropping one. The size and number of eggs laid depend on the size and age of the female. Clutches can vary between 15 and 80 eggs.

INCUBATION

The eggs are removed from the nests soon after laying and placed into incubators. The incubation of crocodile eggs is a lot simpler than poultry eggs, as the incubation temperature can vary from 28 to 37 degrees Celsius. Crocodile eggs must never be turned as the embryo's air sac develops in relation to its position. Another unique characteristic of crocodiles is that crocodiles have no sex chromosomes. In other words the sex of the hatchlings are dependent on another source for their determination i.e. temperature. A general rule of thumb is that males are hatched under warmer incubation temperatures than females. At Crocworld we are not highly concerned about sex determination of the crocodiles as both sexes do equally well under intensive conditions. Males do generally grow quicker than females in their natural environment. The reason behind temperature dependant sex determination (TSD) is that nature controls the male and female numbers in the wild. Incubation is almost exactly 80 days long.

HATCHING

PURPOSE

Crocodiles are reared all over Africa with the purpose of producing skins. These skins are tanned at tanneries before being manufactured into clothing items ad accessories.