While in Africa the ‘king of the jungle’ is the lion, at Tortuguero Costa Rica this position is occupied by the crocodile, an animal that spends its days swimming, camouflaging into the lush vegetation or just sunbathing on the sand.
Not a day goes by where the tourists who visit Manatus Hotel and experience the tour through the canals of Tortuguero, in the Caribbean of Costa Rica, doesn´t get amazed with the chance of seeing these prehistoric animals, just a few meters away.
Crocodiles have inhabited planet Earth for over 200 million years and at Tortuguero the most common kind is the American Crocodile (Crocodilus acutus). This imposing animal is two or three meters long, yet some achieve five or six meters!
The average weight of an American Crocodile is between 170 and almost 400 kilos, but the larger ones can weigh up to a ton.
Get to know the crocodiles in Tortuguero and their unique characteristics:
- Their tongue is flat and is stuck to the bottom of the jaw, so they can’t move it
- With its jaw they are capable of perform a pressure of more than 3.000 pounds
- The large capacity of their lungs allows them, in motion, to dive for up to six hours. If they sit still, they can hold their breath for two days
- They eat turtles, fishes, shellfish, water birds, crabs, frogs, insects and other animals like reptiles. They do not chew the food but use a trick that works during the digestive process: to swallow stones
- According to estimations, they can live between 50 to 100 years
- They have five toes on their front legs and four on the rear ones
- When their teeth are wear down, new ones grow
- The sex of the crocodile is determined by the temperature at which the egg is incubated (low temperatures: female / high temperature: males)
- If you see them sunbathing with their jaws open, it’s because they’re leveling the body temperature
- The undulating movements of their powerful tail allow them to swim nimbly, also they stick their legs to the body to reduce water resistance
- When they’re covered in mud their body secretes an oil to make the dirt slip away
Tortuguero at the Costa Rican Caribbean, a gift of nature to the world
When staying at Manatus, the best hotel in Tortuguero, our guests will be able to make an adventure tour through the Tortuguero water canals, and watch the crocodiles as well as the unique flora and fauna that does not exist in other regions of the world. Also they’ll be able to experience, in real time, the process involved in the nesting and spawning of turtles.
Visit our ‘What to do section?’ or ask for additional information about our hotel, packages, rates and tours, by calling (506) 2239-4854.
Consulted sources:
cocodrilopedia.com
costarica21.com
bioenciclopedia.com
botanical-online.com
