Enclosure status
Open
Population in the wild
92-137
IUCN status
Critically Endangered
Scientific name
Crocodylus mindorensis
Order
Crocodylia
Family
Crocodylidae
Region
Philippines
Habitat
Freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers and marshes

A relatively small species of crocodile, the Philippine crocodile has up to 68 teeth that constantly fallout and replenish.

They have a long broad snout and thick armoured plates of bone on their back. They can float on the surface of lakes and streams, weighing themselves down by eating stones in order to adjust their buoyancy.

Philippine crocodile facts

  • The Philippine crocodile is one of the smaller crocodile species.
  • Philippine crocodiles have a 100 year lifespan. 
  • When the hatchlings appear, the female carefully carries them in her mouth down to the water.
  • This species used to be found throughout the Philippines the population is now fragmented and the species is only found on a few islands.
  • Females lay 7-20 eggs in nests made of plants.
  • It's one of the rarest crocodiles on the planet.
Philippine crocodile baby hatching at London Zoo
Philippine Crocodile

What do Philippine crocodiles eat?

Fish, water birds, lizards and snakes.

Philippine crocodile threats

Habitat destruction, forest clearance for rice fields and local intolerance leading to persecution.

Baby Philippine crocodile at London Zoo
Philippine Crocodile at London Zoo

Philippine crocodile conservation 

We were the first zoo in the UK to breed this species and we also financially support conservation efforts in the field through our partner, The Mabuwaya Foundation. The Philippine crocodile is also a ZSL EDGE species, which means they are both evolutionary distinct (ED) and globally endangered (GE). Through our EDGE programme we are championing species which are a unique and irreplaceable part of our world’s biodiversity. 

EDGE conservation at ZSL

Read about my move to new digs

As staff prepared to open The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians at London Zoo, careful steps were taken to move some of our most incredible species into their new home.

Our reptiles

  • King cobra
    Ophiophagus hannah

    King cobra

    These massive snakes grow 18 feet long and primarily eat other snakes.

  • Anam leaf turtle at London Zoo
    Mauremys annamensis

    Annam leaf turtle

    The anam leaf turtle is one of the most endangered reptiles on earth, there are only around 50 remaining individuals in the wild. Little is known about them, and at our at our conservation Zoo we are working to better understand the species.

  • Blue tree monitor close up
    Varanus macraei

    Blue tree monitor

    Blue tree monitors are known for their amazing puzzle solving intelligence, and are isolated to a small island in Indonesia, which is around the same size as the Isle of Wight. 

  • Two Galapagos tortoises at London Zoo
    Chelonoidis sp.

    Galapagos tortoise

    With a lifespan of 177 years old, some Galapagos tortoises alive today would have around since before the American civil war. 

  • Komodo dragon at London Zoo
    Varanus komodoensis

    Komodo dragon

    The largest and heaviest reptile in the world, which can eat up to 80% of its body weight in just one feeding.

  • Our animals