Crocodilians: Natural History & Conservation: Crocodiles, Caimans, Alligators, Gharials

PIC OF THE MONTH

Crocodilian images which reveal fascinating stories told from a visual perspective.

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1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003

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Sticking Your Neck Out

American alligator craning its neck

Need a better view of your surroundings? Then just stretch! This month's Pic of the Month comes from Bill Moss, and illustrates the beautifully flexible neck of the American alligator. Of course, being slung low to the ground has great advantages in stealth, but it's not much good if you want to investigate what might be over that small mound. Although alligators can stand up impressively on all fours, they normally crane their neck upwards to check things out they can't quite see. Stretching the neck like this is quite a common behaviour, although not normally quite so exaggerated. If you were a tasty mouse hiding behind a mound, it might be quite a shock to see this huge, reptilian head peering down on you...

CAPTION CONTEST! August 2000

There were 42 entries in total, which was great! Of course, choosing a winner is never easy, and there were some great captions in there. However, in order to make the judging fair, three judges were involved. All the captions were isolated, and nobody's name was attached - so we didn't know who we were voting for. Each of us chose the best three, with number 1 getting 3 points, number 2 getting 2 points, etc.

The winner was clear (with 8 points):

"Look everybody, I'm an ostrich!"

And who might this winner be? Oh boy - it was Bill Moss, the photographer!! However, there was nothing in the rule book about the photographer not being able to win the contest, so congratulations Bill!

In case you're wondering, the runner up with 5 points was John White's Larsonesque: "Knowing that he's next, a horrified gator looks on as Dr. Adam Britton performs an enthusiastic digital probing of a cage mate."

Oddly, I thought that was great, but I got voted down! :p Hehehe

So Bill, you will be receiving a genuine Darwin croc postcard (I have a great one!) and a saltwater crocodile stamp (please send me your address). As for everyone else, thank you for entering! It was lots of fun!