A sixty-year-old crocodile laid 27 eggs in the Corporation Zoo on Saturday. According to Corporation Zoo director K. Asokan, the incubation period for the eggs ranged from 55 to 110 days, depending on the climate. The optimal temperature range for embryonic development was between 31 and 33 degree Celsius.
The gender depended on the temperature of egg incubation with temperature of 30 °C producing all females and 34 °C all males.
The temperature-sensitive period was between 7 and 21 days of incubation.
“We are trying for more females with a view to increasing their population. Another female crocodile had laid around 20 eggs a couple of years back, of which nine had hatched. Six of the hatchlings survived and were brought up at the zoo.”
He informed that they had a total of 11 crocodiles, of which five were adults (including two male), all aged between 50 and 60 years. Of the remaining six crocodiles, there are two males.
All are aged around two years.
Dr. Asokan said that these belonged to the species - marsh crocodiles – that were native to the Indian subcontinent.
