Horror movie comes true: flood, more than 70 crocodiles escape...

On September 11, a video circulated online said that more than 70 crocodiles escaped from a farm in Maoming, Guangdong due to heavy rain .

"Crocodile Storm" shines into reality | Screenshot of the video circulated on the Internet

The staff of the local emergency department said that they are now using sonar equipment to search for escaped crocodiles, and some have been captured so far. For safety reasons, the crocodiles that escape will be shot dead . However, it is difficult to catch crocodiles in deep water, and the staff recommends that nearby residents try not to go out.

What kind of crocodile is the farmed crocodile in the video? How dangerous is it?

A freshwater tyrant, once "extinct"

Maoming, Guangdong is the largest crocodile breeding base in the country, and most of the crocodiles farmed are Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis).

The Siamese crocodile is native to Indonesia, Brunei, eastern Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and lives in slow-flowing rivers, lakes and swamps .

This is a medium-sized crocodile, which can reach 2.1 meters in length and weigh 40 to 70 kilograms when it is just an adult. Female crocodiles can grow up to 3.2 meters in length and 150 kilograms in weight. Male crocodiles can reach 4 meters in length and weigh 350 kilograms. Like other crocodiles, Siamese crocodiles are also absolute " carnivores ". In the wild, they mainly feed on fish, water snakes, frogs and small mammals. They are the tyrants of freshwater .

Siamese crocodile in Moscow Zoo | Rigelus / Wikimedia Commons

However, due to habitat destruction and historical overhunting, the number of wild Siamese crocodiles has become extremely rare . In 1992, the Siamese crocodile was thought to be extinct; until 2002, very few remaining individuals were found in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Indonesia. Currently, only a few hundred wild Siamese crocodiles remain in protected areas. They are an extremely endangered species with a living condition as miserable as the national treasure Chinese alligator .

Therefore, wild Siamese crocodiles must not be purchased or eaten . Siamese crocodile foods and products on the market basically come from artificial breeding farms.

A gentle creature in the farm

Siamese crocodiles are easy to breed artificially , and their place of origin has a long history of artificial breeding of Siamese crocodiles.

A Siamese crocodile farm in Cambodia | August Dominus / Wikimedia Commons

Every year from April to May, which is the rainy season in their native habitat, female Siamese crocodiles will dig holes on the shore to lay eggs, and can lay 15 to 50 eggs at a time. Female crocodiles are responsible mothers . After laying eggs, they will guard the nest and stay there until the baby crocodiles hatch. Then they will gently pick up the baby crocodiles with their staggered sharp teeth and terrifying bloody mouths and bring them to the water. If the baby crocodiles are weak and have difficulty hatching, the female crocodiles will even gently pick up the eggs with their mouths and carefully break the eggshells to help the baby crocodiles hatch.

Compared with other common farmed crocodile species such as saltwater crocodiles and Nile crocodiles, Siamese crocodiles are less aggressive . Wild saltwater crocodiles and Nile crocodiles are known for eating people, while there are currently only four confirmed records of wild Siamese crocodiles attacking humans, and no records of fatalities. In two of the incidents, Siamese crocodiles attacked humans in self-defense or to protect their young, and in the other case, humans attacked first. In an environment like a farm, crocodiles are kept in high density, and saltwater crocodiles frequently attack each other due to their strong territoriality; but Siamese crocodiles are more tolerant and rarely attack their own kind .

Will the Siamese crocodile be revived? Not likely

There was a news report before that a blogger bought a frozen crocodile from HEMA. After cutting it with one cut, the crocodile came back to life!

The "frozen" crocodile I bought home was resurrected?

In fact, reptiles can indeed be resurrected, but the Siamese crocodiles sold on the platform generally do not .

Some cold-blooded animals have the habit of hibernating ; moreover, reptiles often appear "dead but not stiff" due to their low metabolism . News such as "severed snake heads biting people" are not fictional.

Siamese crocodiles living in warm areas have limited tolerance to low temperatures. | Rlevse / Wikimedia Commons

However, Siamese crocodiles live in tropical and subtropical regions. Although they can rely on hibernation to reduce metabolism to survive the months with lower temperatures, their ability to tolerate low temperatures is still quite limited .

In most areas of China, Siamese crocodiles need to be heated in winter to ensure that the temperature difference between the water and air in the crocodile breeding pool is not too large, otherwise the Siamese crocodiles are prone to pneumonia, indigestion and other diseases or even death. Therefore, if they are suddenly placed in a freezing room below zero degrees, they will quickly lose temperature and die, and there is no chance of reviving .

Hema also clarified this news: the Siamese crocodiles sold by Hema are frozen after the internal organs are removed , and under normal circumstances there is absolutely no possibility of resurrection.

Image | Weibo: @Hema

Be sure to purchase from formal and legal channels!

In China, there are three types of crocodiles that are allowed to be used for commercial purposes: Siamese crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, and Nile crocodiles . They are all artificially bred aquatic wild animals under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Fisheries, and relevant certificates and complete procedures are required to legally breed, breed and sell them.

The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is Africa's largest reptile | Derek Ramsey / Wikimedia Commons

Among these farmed crocodiles, the Siamese crocodile is one of the most commonly used species for meat . Almost the entire Siamese crocodile is edible , and the muscle meat in the tail is the best. Crocodile meat has a high protein content, low fat content, mild taste and chewy texture, and can be grilled, fried, smoked, braised...

Farmers usually crossbreed Siamese crocodiles with saltwater crocodiles , which produce offspring that grow faster and have better leather quality. After several years of breeding, commercial crocodiles are caught and put on the market when they reach 1.2 to 1.5 meters in length and 6 to 12 kilograms in weight. The skin of Siamese crocodiles can be made into leather , especially the abdominal skin that lacks intradermal bone and membrane bone plates. Because the abdominal skin is soft, Siamese crocodiles are also commonly known as "soft belly" in their place of origin.

Siamese crocodile in a zoo | SuperJew / Wikimedia Commons

However, I would like to emphasize again that, whether for the survival of the Siamese crocodile population or for your own health, you must not eat wild Siamese crocodiles! Do not buy wild Siamese crocodile products ! If you want to try this unpopular food, you must buy it from formal and legal channels.

Author: Black-scaled cockscomb snake

Editor: Mai Mai, Xiao Towel

Title image source: Sohu News