{"id":7349,"date":"2018-05-19T14:48:56","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T18:48:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=7349"},"modified":"2018-05-19T14:53:30","modified_gmt":"2018-05-19T18:53:30","slug":"crocs-museum-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2018\/05\/19\/crocs-museum-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Crocodiles Make Good Pets And Other Important Facts We Learned At The Museum Of Science\u2019s New \u2018Crocs\u2019 Exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crocodiles, alligators and other crocodilians have flourished for more than 200 million years and now they\u2019ve come to Boston\u2019s Museum of Science in the exhibit \u201cCrocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World\u201d<\/a> on view from May 20 to Sept. 3. The show, organized by Clyde Peeling\u2019s Reptiland in Pennsylvania, offers 11 live critters as well as lots of interesting information about these creatures. Geordi Hall, the exhibit\u2019s on-site zookeeper, kindly shared fun facts and answered our questions about whether crocodiles make good pets, what the crocodilians will eat during the exhibition, how much they poop, and the truth about crocodile tears.<\/p>\n

\"Model<\/a>
Model of an Indian gharial in \u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Would a crocodile be a fun addition to one\u2019s swimming pool?<\/strong>
\n\u201cUnfortunately, no, crocodiles are not good to put in a swimming pool,\u201d Hall says. Alligators wouldn\u2019t be good in your pool either, but \u201calligators are kind of scardey-cats. They swim away from us. Crocodiles think we smell interesting and swim toward us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do crocodiles make good pets?<\/strong>
\nNo. Hall says, \u201cThey require a lot of food, they leave giant poops, and they\u2019re very aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/a>
Baby American alligators, about a year or so old, in \u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do they eat while at the museum?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThawed-out rodents,\u201d Hall says. \u201cSince they\u2019re reptiles they don\u2019t need to eat every day.\u201d Only need fed two times a week because of their slower metabolisms. The African dwarf crocodile, which grows to 3- to 4-feet-long, gets fed \u201csmall rats.\u201d Others are fed mice.<\/p>\n

Do all crocodilians only eat meat?<\/strong>
\nConsider the Caiman of South America. \u201cIt\u2019s not fully documented, but there\u2019s a lot of evidence to suggest that they may be omnivorous. They\u2019ve been seen eating fruits and vegetables,\u201d Hall says. \u201cIt\u2019s a very opportunistic kind of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cCrocs\u201d<\/a>
\u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How big is crocodile poop?<\/strong>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not elephant-sized, but it\u2019s pretty good sized,\u201d Hall says. \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised what comes out of their body sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do crocodiles have a second eyelid?<\/strong>
\nCrocodilians \u201chave a second eyelid that they will close up,\u201d Hall says. \u201cThey\u2019re natural swim goggles that cover the eyes so they can swim around and not get water in their eyes.\u201d They\u2019ve also got flaps in their nostrils that they can close to keep water out.<\/p>\n

\"Siamese<\/a>
Siamese crocodile in \u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do crocodiles talk?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThey all vocalize,\u201d Hall says. Usually to call to potential mates or rivals. West African dwarf crocodiles \u201chave terrifying sounds that make us jump. \u2026 It\u2019s very loud. It can only be described as a hissing-grunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are crocodile tears a real thing?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThey is actually a very real thing,\u201d Hall says. \u201cQuite a few species of crocodiles tend to tear when they\u2019re eating their food. [Scientists] don\u2019t know why they do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A young American alligator in \u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What are osteoderms?<\/strong>
\nThe West African dwarf crocodile, Hall says, \u201cThey\u2019re also known as the bony crocodile. Their scientific name is Osteolaemus, which pretty much means \u2018bony neck.\u2019\u201d All crocodilians have bony deposits or osteoderms at their necks, backs and on the back of their tails. \u201cThey have osteoderms all the way around their neck. Which makes them hard to get ahold of. Which give them an extra level of protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Model<\/a>
Model of Gomek, once said to be \u201cthe largest alligator in captivity,\u201d in \u201cCrocs\u201d at Boston\u2019s Museum of Science. Captured in 1968 in the upper Fly River of Papua New Guinea. It\u2019s shown in wildlife parks in Australia and then St. Augustine, Florida. It was believed to be six decades old, 17 feet, 9 inches long, and weighing nearly 2,000 pounds when it died in 1997. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crocodiles, alligators and other crocodilians have flourished for more than 200 million years and now they\u2019ve come to Boston\u2019s Museum of Science in the exhibit \u201cCrocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World\u201d on view from May 20 to Sept. 3. The show, organized by Clyde Peeling\u2019s Reptiland in Pennsylvania, offers 11 live critters as well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,104],"tags":[37,75],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7349"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7349"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7362,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7349\/revisions\/7362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}