Short Communication

Identification of the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus by the use of natural tail marks

D.G.J. Swanepoel
Koedoe | Vol 39, No 1 | a287 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v39i1.287 | © 1996 D.G.J. Swanepoel | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 06 August 1996 | Published: 06 August 1996

About the author(s)

D.G.J. Swanepoel,, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (1MB)

Abstract

The tail marks of 190 Nile crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus were documented and processed into codes. The size of the crocodiles varied from 45 cm to 4.6 m in total length. Wherever possible, both sides of the tails were observed and the marks documented. In all remaining instances only one side could be identified. A total of 267 sides were identified. The natural marks on nine segments of a specific portion of the tail was recorded and compared as codes. For this comparison two methods were employed. Differences of 95.1 and 100 was found with the respective methods. This is an indication that every crocodile has a unique pattern of natural marks on its tail. The marks can therefore be used to allocate a code to an individual crocodile that partially eliminates the necessity of artificial marking methods.

Keywords

tail markings, segments, codes, crocodile, Kruger National Park.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 7509
Total article views: 3703

 

Crossref Citations

1. Evaluation of the use of drones to monitor a diverse crocodylian assemblage in West Africa
Clément Aubert, Gilles Le Moguédec, Cindy Assio, Rumsaïs Blatrix, Michel N’dédé Ahizi, Georges Codjo Hedegbetan, Nathalie Gnanki Kpera, Vincent Lapeyre, Damien Martin, Pierrick Labbé, Matthew H. Shirley
Wildlife Research  vol: 49  issue: 1  first page: 11  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1071/WR20170

2. Challenges and opportunities for monitoring wild Nile crocodiles with scute mark-recapture photography
Bernard W.T. Coetzee, Sam M. Ferreira, Kristine Maciejewski
Koedoe  vol: 60  issue: 1  year: 2018  
doi: 10.4102/koedoe.v60i1.1505

3. A novel method to improve individual animal identification based on camera‐trapping data
Eduardo Mendoza, Pierre R. Martineau, Elliott Brenner, Rodolfo Dirzo
The Journal of Wildlife Management  vol: 75  issue: 4  first page: 973  year: 2011  
doi: 10.1002/jwmg.120

4. Rigorous gharial population estimation in theChambal: implications for conservation and management of a globally threatened crocodilian
Tarun Nair, John B. Thorbjarnarson, Patrick Aust, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Andy Royle
Journal of Applied Ecology  vol: 49  issue: 5  first page: 1046  year: 2012  
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02189.x

5. Modeling misidentification errors in capture–recapture studies using photographic identification of evolving marks
Jun Yoshizaki, Kenneth H. Pollock, Cavell Brownie, Raymond A. Webster
Ecology  vol: 90  issue: 1  first page: 3  year: 2009  
doi: 10.1890/08-0304.1

6. An 11-digit identification system for individual Nile crocodiles using natural markings
Hindrik Bouwman, Enrico Cronje
Koedoe  vol: 58  issue: 1  year: 2016  
doi: 10.4102/koedoe.v58i1.1351