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Adam Britton Profile
Adam Britton

@adambritton

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Zoologist and crocodile specialist at Big Gecko (). Expect tweets on croc science, human croc conflict, wildlife photography, dogs. Manages Smaug.

Darwin, Australia
Joined January 2009
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
In an interview yesterday I carefully described a river as "inhabited by crocodiles". It was 'corrected' to "crocodile infested river". Reporters, please stop doing that. Thanks!
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
It's fishing behaviour. They lie in that "cross posture" with their mouth slightly open, and grab any fish that hit their arms or trigger the pressure sensors along their jaws and arms.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Hi @BillNye I'm a crocodile scientist, I sometimes dive with wild ones and take genetic samples with some scissors #BillMeetScienceTwitter
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
The ultimate #croctober photo? (and yes, @Crocs make great footwear when working with crocs!). For scale (pun intended) the scalier foot is from a saltwater crocodile that's 17.1 feet (5.2 meters) long. I'm an Aussie size 10.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Here's an impressive 5m (16 ft) saltwater crocodile on the Adelaide River just outside Darwin. He doesn't know it, but his kind are key contributors to the local economy which in turn helps protect him. Our role* is to remind people that he has teeth. #wildoz *simplified version
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Me: herbivorous crocs were weird and awesome! Evolution: hold my beer...
@UglyFossils
Stephanie Drumheller
5 years
S is for Stomatosuchus, a surfboard-headed croc from the Cretaceous of Egypt. We aren’t sure, but suspect that crocs with this skull shape had a pouch under their lower jaw, kind of like a pelican. #Croctober #AtoZcrocs #fossils 📸 Sereno and Larsson 2009
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Adam Britton
7 years
Bob Katter MP recently suggested "every three months a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in north Queensland". Actual data: 6 fatal and 8 non-fatal in last 10 years. Average one fatal per 20 months. No evidence yet for increase over that period. #CrocBITE @RealBobKatter
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
Today needs more crocodiles, I think.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Crocodiles are so hardcore, they brush off injuries like this all the time. Very high injury rates in adult males. #croctober
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
Your family has created a successful media and tourism empire through captive and commercial use of crocodiles, it’s hypocritical and wrong to try and use that power to deny Aboriginal people a fair income from their own land and resources. 3/4
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Crocodiles have the most sophisticated heart in the animal kingdom, and actively change the destination of blood that flows through it depending on requirements. #WowScienceFact
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Back to work after a quick trip to Antarctica. No crocodiles found, unsurprisingly, but these leopard seals certainly get the job done. Skip the second photo if you don't like their method of penguin head removal!
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
I’ve also dedicated my life to saving crocodiles, three decades so far, but I use science to help people make informed, unbiased decisions. You’re trying to leverage people’s emotions to oppose action that gives people reason to support crocs instead of cull them. 4/4
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Crocodiles have about 25 degrees of binocular vision when looking directly ahead, so they are pretty good at judging the distance between their jaws and lunch. If a crocodile looks at you this way, make sure you're properly socially distanced. #Croctober @CrocodileSmaug
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
@BindiIrwin This legislation (QLD egg harvest) was created to benefit remote Aboriginal communities; no eggs can be harvested without a thorough impact assessment, which includes evidence that eggs are harvested from areas with high natural flood-related mortality. 1/4
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
The media is still in love with the term "crocodile infested" for anywhere with at least one crocodile. Infestation means numbers so large that they damage their environment or create disease, yet we now know that more crocodiles equals healthier rivers. Besides, it's their home.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Male saltwater crocodiles blow air through the palatal valve at the back of the throat during courtship, making visible bubbles, sounds and pressure waves to entice a potential mate. Combined with infrasonic vibrations, it does the trick! #croctober #shouldhavetakenavideoinstead
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Here is a photo of Smaug the crocodile. Why? Smaug does not need a reason.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Photographed this croc 11 years ago, respected by locals, there are no upsides to killing such an iconic animal
@ausgeo
Australian Geographic
7 years
A huge 5.2 m crocodile has been shot dead in Queensland:
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
And here's a freshwater crocodile because I've been a bit quiet / busy lately. More on that soon.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Filming Smaug for an upcoming movie, his role will be to save the protagonists from a grisly fate for which he gets plenty of grateful hugs. Only joking, he gets to eat stuff.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
Crocodiles can climb much higher waterfalls than that! They also climb trees. And fences. DM me for a copy of the paper we did on this a few years back.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
If you’re removing eggs that were not going to survive anyway, you’re not having a “catastrophic impact” on the wild population. This is a proven technique with decades of evidence showing your concerns are unfounded. 2/4
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
3 years
I like signs that don't beat around the bush.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
8 years
Field of view for a crocodile's eyes overlaps by roughly 20 degrees straight ahead. They know accurately how close you are to those jaws.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
This photo of Smaug is proving quite popular at the moment. Here he demonstrates the correct procedure for flinging a wallaby. The wallaby was found roadkill. #crocodile
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
15 years
Saltwater croc ran rampant around the yard today, dogs in a panic, great footage! (dogs are safe, don't worry)
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Spot the croc in the first photo? Yep, it's a juvenile freshie! Don't often see them further downstream on the Adelaide River, especially considering who was sitting on the opposite bank. No, that's not a freshie!
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
@DeadGators They do get bigger! The largest one we measured in the wild was 1.4 m total length, but we saw (but were unable to measure) one that was a little larger. Here's the 1.4 m croc: #2019SVP #crocodylians
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
So many tweets to catch up on! Here, have a Smaug. He's in his holding pen right now while I do a bit of maintenance on the main enclosure.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
A purely selfish act depriving a community of its long-established, iconic crocodile and increasing the risk of crocodile attacks in the future (replacing a known, habituated croc with a number of unknown, competitive ones).
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
8 years
Closer than normal to a wild adult female saltwater #crocodile
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
MEDIA RELEASE - Why Australia's Crocodile Management Works. This is in relation to the recent fatal crocodile attack in QLD, and the commentary and response surrounding it. #CrocBITE #auspol #qldpol
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Sorry folks, Smaug is taken. #croctober #smaug @CrocodileSmaug
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Clear potential to be the best children's book ever.
@Emma_The_Ward
Emma Ward
5 years
I’m starting on my children’s book of Doris. Gonna try & get 30 colored pages done before May. I’ll post some progress as I’m working on it.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Current mood.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Age datapoints on crocs are rare, hope this is accurate. I suspect data on wild croc longevity is way off the mark though, long-term popln studies and inferences from growth rates hint at 60-80 years for even medium-sized species. Maybe more.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Another irresponsible drone user harassing wildlife, and another media story painting him as a hero. No the crocodile did not attack the drone, it reacted appropriately after a drone was flown at its face. Pity it was not a more expensive lesson.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
This is a pretty misleading article. Crocodiles in northern Australia have recovered, not exploded. The article buries the lede, which is about how little we know about the role of crocodiles. I expected better from @abcnews .
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
Movie poster for Black Water: Abyss, the upcoming sequel to the 2007 realistic croc thriller Black Water. As before I worked with the crew using real crocs to get the shots, so no dodgy CGI monsters. Move over #crawlmovie time for some real crocodiles! #BlackWaterAbyss
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
3 years
@BrianEngh_Art Salties and freshies often bask together where they overlap. Tolerance is more common than people think because photos of freshies being eaten get shared a lot. Competition is reduced where resources are plentiful. This photo from the Daly River for example.
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Adam Britton
7 years
Smaug the crocodile reflects on the sky. Earth Live, Nat Geo, 9 July. #earthlive #natgeowild #natgeotv #smaugthecrocodile #crocodiles
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
10 years
Crocodillin! MT @newscientist : Alligator blood also turns out to be super tough http://t.co/nO1h0w3CYs http://t.co/mIfAyjniHd
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
Wildlife conservation efforts has gharials making a comeback | IndiaToday -
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
A great thread about crocodiles and tolerance.
@JanakiLenin
Janaki Lenin
6 years
This is the story of an incredible place called the Charotar in Gujarat. Charotar means 'pot of gold' and the gold is tobacco.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
@JohnRHutchinson that mesh makes a nice ladder! Reminds me of this...
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
White crocodile seen in Adelaide River - this is a hypomelanistic individual, not super rare but quite striking as an adult
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
This gets a thumbs up from me
@UglyFossils
Stephanie Drumheller
6 years
Time to work this into my lecture on the evolution of archosaurs and the Triassic next week... 📸 @PaleoFPM on FB
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Adam Britton
3 years
This was achieved by tying the crocodiles down by their bodies, so only the head and tail could move. Still a crazy stunt, but he took some precautions. You'd never get away with doing that these days.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
8 years
Hi I'm Adam, I mostly study (& try to resolve) conflict between people & crocodiles, also sometimes measure big ones. #actuallivingscientist
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Adam Britton
4 years
One more advantage of social distancing rules is that everyone can now judge the size of a 1.8 m / 6 ft crocodile accurately.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
When you couldn't possibly eat even one more wafer-thin zebra.
@BBCEarth
BBC Earth
5 years
This pretty much sums up my day... #Serengeti
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
I'm surprised but glad that nobody (?) has ever tried to coin a more "objective" term for the "death roll". But if we did, how about "axial rotation of bitey bois applying toothy torque to oral contents". No wait, that's terrible. Any suggestions?
@VertEvo
Prof. Christine Böhmer
5 years
Not as restricted as previously thought: All #crocodiles tested exhibited the “death roll“ behavior, even slender-snouted species, like gharials. Drumheller et al 2019 Ethology, Ecology & Evolution: Surveying death roll behavior across Crocodylia
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Adam Britton
5 years
Crocodile jerks are the worst crocodiles! (amusing translation error spotted by @bsideleau while looking for attack reports... at least we assume it's an error). #CrocBITE #humanwildlifeconflict
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
It's the start of #croctober so time to release episode 23 of the CrocLog Podcast! Includes a whole new crocodile species! We also discuss @CrocHolliday paper on archosaur thermoregulation, @wildcrocnt paper on limits of movement, and more.
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Adam Britton
4 years
Nice to see this big guy doing so well and looking great! Originally from the NT, bringing him through customs was a blast! "Any animal or plant products to declare?" "Well, about that..." (disclaimer: not the actual conversation)
@FortWorthZoo
Fort Worth Zoo
4 years
A little rain didn’t stop Salty’s BBQ! The saltwater croc had a large meal (pork) today. It not only filled him up but allowed him to exercise muscles he doesn’t always use. Reptiles are excellent energy conservers. So Salty only needs a meal of this size a few times a year.
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Adam Britton
4 years
Excuse the self promotion, but if you're interested in human crocodile conflict, please follow the new CrocBITE twitter! This is run by @bsideleau
@BiteCroc
CrocBITE
4 years
An excellent article written by CrocBITE's Adam and Erin Britton-
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Adam Britton
3 years
Looks like I missed #worldcrocodileday but that's ok, because every day can be a crocodile day if you want it to be.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
8 years
My awesome better half @BrittonErin is a biologist interested in tropical wildlife & habitats. Oh, and big crocs. #actuallivingscientist
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
1/5 #BTCon18 Hi! I’m Adam Britton, a zoologist based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. I work on crocodile population ecology, management and wildlife conflict issues. Let me tell you “How crocodile attacks can be used to save people’s lives and conserve crocodiles.”
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Adam Britton
6 years
5/5 #BTCon18 If we keep attacks in check, and furthermore reveal the economic, cultural and ecological value of crocodiles to people, communities are more likely to tolerate their presence. Sometimes that’s the best conservation we can hope for. - Thx! Qs?
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Adam Britton
6 years
Interesting study, and the data suggest abundant feral prey may increase the carrying capacity of crocodiles in affected environments. In other words, uncontrolled feral pests increase crocodile populations and risk to humans.
@PLOSONE
PLOS ONE
6 years
Estuarine crocodiles in a tropical coastal floodplain obtain more than half of their nutrition from terrestrial prey
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Adam Britton
7 years
If you're interested in crocs and want to learn more (a LOT more), it's not too late to ask Santa for a copy of Grigg and Kirshner's "Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians". Expensive, but worth it. Amazon: CSIRO:
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Adam Britton
3 years
When Smaug is away, the freshies will play.
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Adam Britton
5 years
🐊Thread time! If you ever get chance to visit the Angkor temples in Siem Reap in Cambodia, be sure to look out for the numerous crocodiles represented in the detailed bas relief carvings on temple walls. 1/9
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Adam Britton
6 years
Excited to be one of the presenters at #BTCon18 hosted by @biotweeps on 21-22 June 2018! Believe it or not, I'm talking about #crocodiles and their bitey tendencies. Smaug will assist with some visual aids. Should be fun! #scicomm
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
@dog_rates Does this flat dog count? :)
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Adam Britton
9 years
#footoff #funfact Many artists get croc feet wrong: 5 on front, only inner 3 clawed; 4 on back, only inner 3 clawed http://t.co/N2egUoVQMP
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Saltwater crocodile, Adelaide River, NT.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Hello everyone suddenly following me from @MarineVertClass #ocs4012 - ask me croc q's, or just enjoy this large freshie for now...!
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Despite my best efforts to find time to do another #croclog podcast in November, it was not to be! Now out of range for most of this month, so... early January? To make up for it, here's a recent photo of a Komodo Dragon emerging from the fiery sunlight! I know, #notacrocodile
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
9 years
Can confirm #crowdfunding works for small / focused science projects. Good overview @PLOSBiology
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
History teaches us that as climate changes, marine-tolerant crocs are most likely to adapt and - as a side-effect - become even more likely to regard us as lunch. Ok, that last part is a bit of an assumption, but it's probably true.
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Adam Britton
4 years
Based on 5,500 incidents, the smallest crocodilian recorded killing an adult is 2.1 meters (7 ft). This guy was fortunate not to have received more serious injuries, but it's unlikely to have threatened his life in shallow water. #CrocBITE #crocattack
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Adam Britton
7 years
Ultrasound is remarkably accurate for imaging croc internals to look for disease (this is Tomistoma)
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Adam Britton
4 years
Nile crocodiles turn up in the weirdest places. Undoubtedly a released captive, assuming the observations are accurate.
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Adam Britton
9 years
@TetZoo Here's a very much non-extinct #crocodyliform providing reference material, complete with commentary. http://t.co/ND0nhtvemL
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Adam Britton
6 years
I'm talking about "Using crocodile attacks to save people's lives: the CrocBITE project" on Tue Nov 27 at 11.30am, part of the symposium on wildlife coexistence and conflict. Also looking forward to sharing ideas about wildlife conflict mitigation. #ESAus18
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Adam Britton
5 years
Impressive trichbezoar from a saltwater crocodile in Kakadu, found and photo by @jennifermairi @RIELresearch @abcdarwin
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Adam Britton
6 years
Cool science. Crocodiles are also excellent at self-righting, although they rely on the tail as a lever. If you keep the tail straight with minimal force you can stop them rolling over! #factsthatwillprobablyneverbeuseful
@c_mayerl
Christopher Mayerl
6 years
Ever wonder how turtles are able to flip themselves over after being upside-down? Now you don't have to - read our newest article out today in @J_Exp_Biol !
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Adam Britton
6 years
2/5 #BTCon18 How do you conserve species that have “deserved” reputations for killing people? If conservation is a success, you’re increasing risk for local people! How is that sustainable? Conflict only increases as human populations grow and wild habitats shrink.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
Smaug was on the front cover of the NT News yesterday. He's offering to sign autographs but I advise caution, he's not actually @russellcrowe #crocodile #smaug
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Adam Britton
6 years
Possibly inadvisably, I can confirm first-hand that saltwater crocodiles do fart occasionally.
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Adam Britton
9 years
This #catfish is having a bad day. The #crocodile , on the other hand... #wildoz http://t.co/eDuAHTXC3p
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
4 years
This is the best crocodile myth because the artwork is always so awesome.
@Papyrus_Stories
Jenny Cromwell
4 years
Nile crocodile having his teeth cleaned by the "crocodile bird" (Herodotus' trochilus), from al-Jāḥiẓ, Kitāb al-Ḥayawān (Book of the Animals). From a 17th c. copy in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan (MS D140inf.).
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Adam Britton
7 years
Aerial photo we took during population surveys in 2006; Fitzroy River "iconic croc" (adult pig in mouth). Quite likely the same one.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
5 years
In fairness, Lacoste has contributed to critically endangered crocodilian conservative programs through the earlier "Save Your Logo" campaign. It would have been great for one of their logos to have been a gharial though.
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Adam Britton
4 years
@ArminReindl Fun fact, in crocs this is very often the result of high incubation temperatures that cause cell division errors during embryonic growth. Seeing one survive into adulthood in the wild is less usual.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
I think it's perfectly fine for a species to have more than one common name in context. Random example: saltwater crocodile, estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile (ok not that one!), saltie, ginga... Just as long as there's one scientific name.
@TetZoo
Darren Naish
6 years
#Dynasties went with the bold decision to used 'painted wolf' instead of 'hunting dog'. There are arguments on both sides for these names. I get that painted wolf sounds more exotic and less ambiguous but hunting dog is way more familiar.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
In Sumatra for crocodile workshop, sharing experience from successful croc management programs including Australia.
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
4/5 #BTCon18 To learn from people’s often fatal mistakes, we built an open-source database (CrocBITE) of 4,300 incidents ( @bsideleau ). This tells us how and where to target mitigation strategies. Goal is to make conservation sustainable again by improving education and management
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
6 years
Small differences in limb proportions between crocodiles and alligators. Natural variation, or functionally different? Some more research needed!
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
7 years
Discussing last-minute script changes with Smaug for #EarthLive #natgeotv #natgeowild #crocodile
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@adambritton
Adam Britton
8 years
In dodgy science reporting, crocodile are apparently immortal? No, they're not. They don't even grow indefinitely.
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