Orange mutant crocodile specializes in hunting bats in the cave

An orange population of mutant African crocodiles, specializing in caves, eating bats and crickets.

Archaeologist Richard Oslisly first discovered special dwarf crocodiles when they entered Abanda cave in Gabon in 2008 to search for traces of prehistoric people, according to the Guardian. "We can say it is a mutant species, because crocodile crocodiles possess a unique haploid genotype. The diets are also different and this species evolves to adapt to the world under the heart. Oslisly said.

Two years later, Oslisly returned with the cave scientist Olivier Testa and crocodile expert Matthew Shirley. They captured the first crocodile crocodile and when it was taken outside, the group found its skin not as blue and gray as the usual African dwarf alligator.

Cave where orange crocodiles live.(Video: YouTube).

So far, the team has discovered a population of about 30 cave crocodiles, 10 of them are orange, and there may still be many hiding. Researchers believe that juvenile crocodiles can enter the cave system through countless passages, but once they reach a certain size, they can spend the day in the dark."It is no different from a prison holding crocodiles themselves. They eat bats to live in these caves and eat crickets on the walls , " Oslisly said.

Over time, older crocodiles began to turn orange. The researchers hypothesize that color change is due to the fact that alligators spend too much time immersing themselves in a mixture of alkaline and bat manure, causing their skin to be bleached.

Crocodile is cold-blooded, meaning they need to rely on the surrounding temperature to survive. But according to Oslisly, living conditions of crocodile caves are no different from crocodiles living outdoors. Both species hunt in the dark. African dwarf crocodiles mainly work at night. The temperature of the cave water is always stable at 22 degrees C.

African dwarf crocodiles , distributed in West Africa and Central Africa, are the smallest crocodiles in the world with a maximum length of less than two meters, although most never exceed 1.5 meters long. Research over the past few years indicates that there may be three separate subspecies in the area, not including the strange cave crocodiles.

The orange cave crocodile is placed next to the normal dwarf crocodile.(Photo: Olivier Testa).

Genetic evidence shows that crocodile crocodiles can be separated from relatives living outdoors. A single haploid genome of crocodile crocodile is not found in African dwarf crocodiles." Abanda crocodile crocodiles emerged as a separate gene population , " Oslisly explained. He said the current data shows that this crocodile population is separated thousands of years ago.

Researchers are quite anxious about where this animal breeds. The smaller ones can dig into the cave to breed. But if the biggest crocodiles get stuck, do they nest in caves or abandon mating?

Oslisly's group believes that crocodiles can use caves for many reasons, including providing a stable source of food and a safe haven for predators. Oslisly and his colleagues are working to turn the area into a wildlife sanctuary to protect the mutant crocodile.