Philippine Crocodile

The Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis) is a crocodile found in the Philippines. It is also known as the Mindoro crocodile and the Philippine freshwater crocodile. In the Philippines, it is strictly prohibited to kill a crocodile, but its status is critically endangered from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods, such as dynamite fishing. Conservation methods are being taken by the Dutch/Filipino Mabuwaya foundation, the Crocodile Conservation Society and the Zoological Institute of HerpaWorld in Mindoro.

The Philippine crocodile is a relatively small freshwater crocodilian endemic to the Philippines. Growing no more than 3 meters, they have a relatively broad snout and thick bony plates on its back(heavy dorsal armor). Females are slightly smaller than males. Philippine crocodiles are golden-brown in color, which darkens as it matures.

 

The Philippine crocodile is only found on the islands of the Philippines. This species of crocodile is one of the most severely threatened species around. There are roughly 250 left in the wild as of September 2011 according to an article with National Geographic.
The Philippine crocodile has been extirpated in Samar, Jolo, Negros Island, Masbate, and Busuanga. There are still surviving population in the Northern Sierra Madre National Park, San Mariano, Isabela, Dalupiri island in the Babuyan Islands, and Abra (province) in Luzon and Ligawasan Marsh in Mindanao.