African Dwarf Crocodile

The dwarf crocodiles and Mozambique tilapia happily coexist…most of the time. The harmony between predator and prey stems from the reptiles’ full bellies. Due to their slow metabolism, the crocodiles can stay stuffed on a strict diet of one rat per week. Occasionally, however, instinct takes over, and the female can be seen fishing (the male is content with rats).

The fishing behavior is easy to spot—the crocodile swims slowly through the tank with her mouth open, occasionally stopping and watching the fish. Most of the time she moves on, but sometimes, she'll just snap a fish. If you visit the exhibit at the right time and you’re patient, you may see it happen.

When the female isn’t fishing, visitors might find her basking on the enclosure’s heated rocks. Several warm places are provided, but one that visitors may have to strain to see is in the back, where a heat lamp is suspended over the crocodiles’ nestbox. According to Wilson, the female lays eggs annually, and although no offspring have been produced to date, keepers believe that the two breed every year, despite the male’s advanced age (R1, named for being the oldest Lincoln Park Zoo reptile during a 1980’s census, has been at the zoo since 1940.) While the nest box hasn’t achieved its primary purpose, the dirt and sand within offers the crocodiles a place to dig, something R1 prefers to fishing.