Mugger Crocodile

The mugger, or marsh crocodile, is a medium-sized, broad-snouted crocodile that lives in marshes, lakes, rivers and artificial ponds up to 420m. It rarely reaches 5m in body length. It is a powerful swimmer but also walks overland in search of water in the hot season, and young and adults dig burrows to retreat to when temperatures fall below 5°C or rise above 38°C (Wikipedia, general species account).

In Nepal's Terai it occurs in the wetlands of Shuklaphanta and Bardia National Parks, Ghodaghodi Tal, Chitwan National Park and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. In Bardia a mugger was observed caching a chital kill beneath the roots of a tree and returning to its basking site. Females dig nest holes in sand and lay up to 46 eggs in the dry season, and the sex of hatchlings depends on incubation temperature.