Are Crocodiles Protected Animals? Uncovering the Reason Why Crocodiles Shed Tears

The crocodile is a reptile that many people are familiar with, and there are quite a few species distributed all over the world. Crocodiles can not only lurk in the water but also walk and breathe freely on land. With human hunting, the number of wild crocodiles is becoming fewer and fewer, so are crocodiles protected animals? Why do they shed tears?

1. Are crocodiles protected animals?

There are mainly twenty-five species of crocodiles known to people, and most of these crocodile species are already endangered wild fauna and flora species, such as the Chinese alligator, the South American alligator, the Central American alligator, the sharp-snouted crocodile, the narrow-snouted crocodile, the intermediate crocodile, the Peten crocodile, the Nile crocodile, the Philippine crocodile, the gharial, the rhombic-marked crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, the Siamese crocodile, the Malayan crocodile, the alligator, the gavial, and so on. Because their numbers are continuously declining, they are now internationally important protected species, listed in Appendix I of the Washington Convention CITES, and cannot be traded internationally. In addition, all species of the order Crocodilia, class Reptilia, other than those listed in Appendix I, are listed in CITES Appendix II, regulating international trade.

If everyone discovers someone selling wild crocodiles or wild animals, you can report it to the local relevant forestry department. No matter when, protecting wild animals is our bounden duty.

2. Why do crocodiles shed tears?

Many people have heard the story of “crocodile tears”, which implies human hypocrisy. In fact, crocodiles do indeed shed tears, but it is not out of repentance for eating their food, nor because they are truly sad. According to relevant speculation, crocodiles shedding tears is merely to excrete excess salt from the body, because the kidney function in a crocodile's body is not very well developed, so they need to rely on the glands around their eyes to excrete it.

With the continuous research of scientists, it was found that this argument is actually incorrect. Crocodiles do not rely on the glands around their eyes to excrete salt, but rather on their huge tongues. Researchers dissected the tongue of a crocodile and found that there are salt glands on the mucous membrane of the tongue, and their structure is similar to the salt glands of other reptiles, especially similar to those of sea snakes.

In summary, crocodiles shedding tears is not for excreting salt; it is actually because after staying on land for a long time, their eyes begin to dry out and secrete tears to protect and moisten the eyes.

3. What animal is the natural enemy of the crocodile?

Since crocodiles are so strong, do they have any natural enemies? The natural enemy of the crocodile is a bird called the shoebill, which also has a large mouth and a hard, sharp beak, and can even peck through the tough outer skin of a crocodile. Especially some smaller crocodiles are even less of a match for this kind of bird. The shoebill's way of eating is similar to that of a python, basically swallowing its food whole.