Watch the Sighting:
Colin Pretorius was casually enjoying his breakfast in the La Fera Restaurant at Ngwenya Lodge when this intense sighting took place. A mother crocodile wandered across the white sands and parked herself right in front of the restaurant.
With a very convenient view of the sighting, everyone in the restaurant began to take out their cameras to capture the moment.
A Breakfast with a Wild Twist
After resting a few moments, the crocodile began to dig in the sand, and Colin quickly put two and two together — this was a mother making a nest! All the safari-goers at the restaurant watched in amazement as the mother laid her eggs and proceeded to kick her feet to bury them with sand.
After an exhausting while, the mother relocated herself a few feet away from her buried eggs to rest and bask in the sun, but little did she know that she wouldn’t be able to relax for long…
Thieves Lurking Nearby
While the mother kept a careful eye on her eggs, an unseen threat approached from behind — a monitor lizard! When the lizard got within a couple of meters of the eggs, the mother sensed its presence and turned around menacingly, causing it to momentarily retreat.
The lizard’s hunger drive was stronger than its fear drive, however, and it quickly came back for more. The mother crocodile stared the monitor lizard down, threatening violence.
Double trouble
Amidst the intense stare-down, Colin couldn’t believe his eyes — another monitor lizard was entering the scene! The two lizards worked together, dividing the mother’s attention and creeping closer to the eggs.
Eventually, when they were mere feet away, the mother ferociously charged, sending them scattering away. This back and forth went on for some time, but eventually, the mother crocodile had enough.
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
Despite her best efforts, the mother crocodile moved off, exhausted from laying her eggs and battling for her young. The lizards excitedly dug up the eggs, making off with the meal they so relentlessly fought for.
This sighting taught Colin that nature can be as cruel as it is fascinating. Even the strongest animals can sometimes fail to protect their young from the struggle for survival.
A Mother’s Weakness and a Predator’s Feast
Giving birth in the wild is one of the most vulnerable and scary moments for an animal. The prolonged exposure and strong scents attract predators from far and wide.
Mothers must be on high alert for both their safety and the safety of their offspring. For crocodiles, hatching offspring consists of digging a hole about fifty centimetres deep in the sand, laying about forty to sixty eggs into the hole, covering it up, and waiting close to the nest for about eighty to ninety days while the eggs incubate.
Despite how vigilant the mothers are, this leaves a large window of time where the eggs are vulnerable to predation from many animals including hyenas, monitor lizards and even humans. This predation typically occurs while the mother abandons the nest to either thermoregulate in the water or hunt.