Meet the Nile crocodile of African rivers. Nile crocodiles live in Africa and on the island of Madagascar, in rivers, freshwater marshes and mangrove swamps, and as of November 2026 they live in parts of 47 African countries.

As of November 2026, the Nile crocodile is the largest crocodile in Africa. An average adult is about 16 feet (about 5 meters) long, counting its tail. As of November 2026, the longest reach about 20 feet (6 meters). An average adult weighs about 500 pounds (225 kilograms), and many weigh more. As of November 2026, the biggest are reported to weigh as much as 1,000 kilograms (2,205 pounds).

A Nile crocodile has its eyes on top of its head, and its ear slits close up when it dives, which keeps water out. Crocodiles see well at night because their vertical pupils open wider than our round ones, letting in more light. Crocodiles also have about 9,000 touch-sensing domes on their bodies, many more than the roughly 4,000 an alligator has on its head. The sensing bumps on a crocodile's skin are more sensitive to touch than human fingertips.

A crocodile swims by moving its tail, and its short legs are held against its body. Its heart has four chambers but works like a three-chambered heart when the crocodile is under water, which helps it save oxygen. A resting Nile crocodile may stay underwater for up to two hours when it is not moving.

In daylight a Nile crocodile basks in the sun, and it cools off in the water when it needs to. A Nile crocodile warms up and cools down by moving between sun and shade or land and water, and Nile crocodiles often rest in the sun with their mouths open.

Nile crocodiles are most often active at night. A Nile crocodile waits patiently underwater for prey, then launches itself forward, and it may ambush prey near the shoreline, swimming silently underwater until it is near the shore. Nile crocodiles sometimes hunt fish together, herding the fish.

Fish are the main food of a Nile crocodile, and besides fish, Nile crocodiles eat animals such as zebras and porcupines. A crocodile can go a long time between meals, and its tail stores fat, so a big crocodile can go a long time without food.

A Nile crocodile has a long tooth on each side of its lower jaw that can be seen when its mouth is closed. A crocodile's teeth are replaced in waves along the jaw, so a new tooth can move in very quickly to replace an old one.

A mother Nile crocodile makes her nest on a riverbank, a sandy shoreline or a dry streambed, and she lays at least 25 eggs in one nest. She guards her nest until the eggs hatch, and the eggs take about 90 days, or three months, to hatch.

A Nile crocodile's nest temperature decides whether its babies are female or male. Too much shade over a Nile crocodile nest cools the eggs and can lead to mostly female hatchlings.

Baby Nile crocodiles call from inside their eggs just before they hatch, and when the babies are ready to hatch, the mother digs up the nest. A Nile crocodile parent may gently roll an egg in its mouth to help a baby hatch, and the mother carries her newly hatched babies to the water in her mouth.

Young Nile crocodiles eat insects and small fish, and they dig tunnels in river banks as shelter from predators. A young Nile crocodile grows about 30 centimeters (1 foot) longer each year.

In the middle of the 1900s, Nile crocodiles were hunted until they were almost gone, but laws and protection have helped their numbers recover in many places. As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List says the Nile crocodile is a species of Least Concern. As of November 2026, an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 mature Nile crocodiles live in the wild. In some places pollution, hunting and loss of habitat still harm Nile crocodiles.

Words to know

• mangrove: coastal tree swamp
• hatchlings: new babies
• ambush: hidden surprise
• basks: rests in sun