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Crocodiles: Despite having fierce teeth, why does a crocodile swallow the prey without chewing it?

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By Mayur Published 2 years ago 3 min read
Crocodiles: Despite having fierce teeth, why does a crocodile swallow the prey without chewing it?
Photo by Thomas Couillard on Unsplash

Despite having fierce teeth, why does a crocodile swallow the prey without chewing it?

Crocodile, which is considered the most dangerous of the creeping creatures, can kill and swallow a human in a jiffy. Crocodile, the most dangerous predator living in water, on seeing its prey, rushes towards the prey with such cleverness and speed, that it is impossible to escape. One's soul trembles at the sight of the dreaded and sharp teeth of a crocodile.

But you will be surprised to know that, crocodile catches its prey with its teeth, but after that it does not use its teeth at all, rather it swallows its prey whole. Actually, crocodile takes the help of teeth and jaws to catch its prey. But after that, he takes the victim straight down from the light. It does not chew on its prey like other toothed animals.

If you are wondering why this happens, then you do not need to think much, today we are going to tell you about the reason behind it. Actually, crocodile teeth are not used for eating. They only make its jaws so strong that it becomes impossible for any prey to escape once it is trapped there.

Why crocodile does not chew on the prey?

This dreaded animal has very terrible teeth in its mouth, but their structure is such that it can only use it to grab the prey. However, with these teeth, he cannot chew the prey and eat it.

In fact, this is the reason why they swallow the prey directly after suppressing it. Apart from this, you will be surprised to know one more thing that crocodile has four stomachs. Yes, here he delivers the prey by twisting it.

Actually, the stomach of crocodiles contains a much higher amount of gastric acid than other animals. It works to digest food without chewing it. Experts at the Miami Science Museum say that like the Ostrich, the crocodile also eats small pebbles and stones, which grind the food well in the stomach.

Experts say that when the crocodile takes a big prey, it does not need to eat anything for the next few days. This is because large prey takes about 10 days to digest slowly in its stomach. During this he sits quietly.

Let us tell you that a female crocodile lays about 12-48 eggs at a time. It takes 55-100 days for them to hatch. At the same time, the life of crocodile depends on their species. Some crocodiles live for 40 years and some for 80 years.

Whether human or other prey, the crocodile swallows it without chewing it. Surprisingly, despite having crocodile teeth, they do not chew their prey, have you ever wondered why they do this? Biologists say, crocodile catches its prey. Stuck in his jaws. Presses and swallows. He does not chew and eat it like other animals. Know why he is not able to do this despite having teeth and four stomachs.According to biologists, the jaws of the crocodile are strong enough to hold the prey. Once any part of the body or prey is trapped in its jaw, it is difficult to get rid of. He drags the victim into the water, after which the chances of his escape are further reduced. Now understand why he does not chew the prey?

The structure of teeth in the mouth of crocodile is such that they can grab the prey but cannot chew. Their mouth has teeth on the sides. Therefore, they are unable to chew the prey and swallow them directly. In such a situation, the question arises that how the prey is digested in the stomach of the crocodile. They deliver the prey to the stomach by pressing and breaking it with the jaw. One surprising thing is that they have four stomachs.

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