Question #150148. Asked by
psnz.
Last updated Nov 16 2023.
Originally posted Nov 16 2023 9:27 PM.
The Orinoco crocodile is the largest predator in the Americas: males can reach almost six metres long and weigh nearly half a ton. Only found in the Orinoco River in Venezuela and Colombia, these animals were hunted to near extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries due to the demand for crocodile leather. Nowadays pollution and collection of juvenile crocodiles for the live animal trade, in addition to hunting, have reduced the population of South America's top reptilian predator to a mere 500 or so individuals.
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