The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, and they can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Colombia and Venezuela. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) in the past, weighing over 900 kg (2,000 lb), but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) being a more widely accepted maximum size. A large male today may attain 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) in length and can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb), while females are substantially smaller with the largest likely to weigh around 225 kg (496 lb). Sexual dimorphism is not as profound as in other crocodilian species. The coloration is light even in adults.
The biology of the Orinoco crocodile is poorly documented in the wild, mostly due its small population. It is thought to have a more piscivorous diet with an opportunistic nature, resulting in generalist predatory behavior. The Orinoco crocodile is an apex predator, and will take the opportunity to prey on a variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles, including caimans on occasion. The prey base is mostly made up of large predatory fish, challenging the general view by locals complaining about crocodiles hunting local fish to very low numbers. Despite its large size, the Orinoco crocodile rarely poses a threat to humans, despite several reports. Reproduction takes place in the dry season when the water level is lower. Orinoco crocodiles are hole nesters, just like the related Nile, freshwater, and saltwater crocodiles, and they dig holes in the sand to lay their eggs.
Characteristics
The Orinoco crocodile can be recognised by its relatively long snout, which is narrower than that of the somewhat similar-looking American crocodile. This species generally has a pale tan hide, though at least three coloration variations are known, with some almost completely yellowish, and some a dark brownish-gray. The skin can change colour over long periods of time; this phenomenon has been recorded in other species that can gradually change the amount of melanin in their skin. These crocodiles have dark-brown markings, which present as more pronounced bands in younger specimens and as scattered markings on mature ones.
Habitat
This species is restricted to the Orinoco river basin in Colombia and Venezuela. They have been occasionally reported on the island of Trinidad, but this has not been confirmed, and witnesses may have mistaken an American crocodile for the rarer species. This crocodile was once thought to have inhabited a wide range of riparian habitats, from tropical forests to the streams of the Andes foothills. Today, this species is restricted to the Llanos savanna and associated seasonal freshwater rivers.
Hunting and diet
Little study has gone into the dietary biology of Orinoco crocodiles but from eye-witness accounts and partial studies from captivity and crocodile farms, the majority of the Orinoco crocodile's diet appears to consists of large fish. The species' relatively narrow snout is ideally suited to minimize water resistance in capturing such aquatic prey. However, as an opportunistic apex predator, virtually any animal living within its range could be considered a potential meal, such as invertebrates, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Despite having a rather elongated skull, its base snout is wide, hinting to a generalist diet. Additionally, as they age, mature males in particular appear to manifest a broadened snout, presumably due to a shift to being able to take larger prey as is seen in several other large crocodile species.
It stalks both aquatic and terrestrial prey. As a large adult, terrestrial prey may include monkeys, deer, birds, other reptiles, domestic animals, and even occasionally other large predators if the opportunity arises.Similar to many of the larger crocodile species, the Orinoco crocodile has also been observed catching and eating smaller species of crocodilians, such as adult common caimans and sometimes cannibalizing smaller individuals of its own kind.
Conservation
The Orinoco crocodile is highly endangered due to excessive hunting for its hide. During the 1940s to the 1960s, thousands of these animals were slaughtered in the Orinoco River and the Llanos wetlands, and the species came very close to extinction. The Orinoco crocodile was given protected status in the 1970s, but has yet to recover. Today, it is protected both in Colombia and Venezuela, and also included on Appendix I by CITES. In addition to hunting for its hide, more recent threats include the collection of juveniles for sale in the live animal trade, pollution, and the proposal of a dam in the upper Orinoco River region. Another problem is the increased population of spectacled caimans, a smaller crocodilian that can outcompete the Orinoco crocodile for fish due to its much larger population and much more accelerated breeding rates.
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Remember nerds, no current struggle session discussion here on the general megathread, i will ban you from the comm and remove your comment, have a good day/night :meow-coffee:
or just keep posting around here long enough and somebody will just add you one of these days
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cw maybe? but i got the first death threat i’ve ever received on the internet today because some loser on twitter linked a page from some boston children’s hospital to prove they’re doing surgery on trans children and i scrolled through the link and screenshotted the part where it says they’re only performed on patients 18 years or older LMFAOO 😭
i’m a little spooked out but damn that’s easily the funniest online interaction i’ve been apart of, like it was that simple to disprove
My buddy from New Mexico? I think you mean my...
Punchline
palbuquerque
My bidet has been purchased and is awaiting shipment. Further updates about my anal cleanliness will be posted as needed.
What did you get? I've been thinking about installing a bidet attachment in my apartment.
This one I don't know if it's a great one or not but we'll see.
The more I read about the insanity of the "effective altruism" movement, and about lesswrong, SSC, and the galaxy of websites where those dorks congregate, the more I become convinced the Bay area must be nuked.
being a vegan is actually extremely easy. i don’t miss any food, i usually don’t have issues at restaurants, groceries are cheaper. the only downside is the constant teasing to flat out bullying from friends, family, etc., multiple, multiple times a day on a daily basis. it’s borderline unbearable like me not eating animal flesh is the butt of every other joke i hear throughout my day
Teammate in CS today had $50k worth of skins (including 3 field tested awp dragon lores)
I thought you meant for a computer science project... and human skins
It makes sense in some cases to launder it into CS skins, but you'd sell them (I.e. actually launder). It was a weird-ass inventory, though, had a few insanely high value items, and then just mid stuff.
Anybody else grow up with older films that were in the public domain because you couldn't spend a lot on newer films? This is pretty much the only reason I know as much as I do about the Silent Era and Golden Age Hollywood.
I think the Golden Age was a bigger deal in the early 90's when you could get those VHS tapes of MGM classics for really cheap. I watched most of the Silent films online where I didn't have to pay anything for them.
I don't think I should have to answer a text from my boss when I'm not at work, I'm not getting paid for it so why should I have to be thinking about work stuff? They complain that stuff isn't selling but don't want me to do anything that would get stuff moved and sold, I'd literally be better off just sitting on my ass all day than trying to do something only for them to complain that it wasn't done the particular way they want it done even though they'll never do it themselves.
I don't put up with that much BS. It's still the best job I've ever had even if that's not saying much. But I'm still glad I'm stealing from them.
I straight up don't acknowledge texts or emails from my boss until Monday morning.
I just realized... I can just... buy a sword. No one is stopping me. Except that it'll probably cost too much and I need to make rent. But I can just buy a sword and it'll be delivered to my house.
Not vegan though :powercry-2: ray skin
Not like I'm buying it lol
If you have a sword, it will be much easier to negotiate a lowered rent payment
You think the landlord is gonna put your rent up when you have one of these motherfuckers?
it's almost may, i haven't planted anything in my garden, and fuck knows what i'm going to put there instead. i think i'll just go for a ton of peppers and tomatoes
Depending on what zone you’re in you can always just sow clover and let them rest, I did that for half my beds last year. Looking that way for this year too :/
You can also theoretically leave the clover in as a permanent nitrogen fixing living mulch, just plant your vegetables among the clover, and never have to weed, till, or fertilize again. I am giving this a shot in an area of poor soil that I sheet mulched last year. Honestly sounds a little too good to be true but worth a shot.
I have heard this too but think it would be tough for seedlings to thrive under clover cover. Maybe with plugs it would work. They’d have to be pretty big though at least 3-4” tall, and you’d have to use white clover I think
Yep. Dutch white clover and start your seeds in trays. Though I guess you could also try mowing the clover before planting with seeds and/or clearing out a little space for each one. Definitely an experiment.
Good luck!
I'm trying out some tomato variants and tomatillos myself.