Mysterious orange crocodiles seen in Nepal, photos show. ‘Too much Sunny D?’

Don Sweeney
·2 min read

Some freshwater crocodiles at a Nepal national park are turning an unusual orange hue, photos show.

“Have these crocs been drinking too much Sunny D? Messily eating Cheetos?” asked scientist Phoebe Griffith on Twitter.

Griffith, who studies crocodiles, posted a series of photos of the orange-hued reptiles to Twitter on May 29, along with an explanation.

The odd coloration has been showing up in gharials and mugger crocodiles, two species of freshwater crocodiles, at Chitwan National Park in Nepal, Griffith wrote.

“Turns out some areas of Chitwan have seriously high levels of iron in the water, and iron reacts with oxygen to form an orange substance called iron oxide,” Griffith wrote after consulting with other scientists.

So, basically, the crocodiles are rusting. But it’s strictly temporary, Griffith noted.

“I loved these orange crocs as this is my favourite colour (she said, scientifically),” Griffith wrote.

Gharials are among the world’s most endangered reptiles, with only about 200 left in Nepal and close to 200 remaining in India, the Zoological Society of London reported. Males can reach sizes of up to 16 feet and 550 pounds.

Mugger crocodiles are found throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, according to Earth’s Endangered Creatures. They can grow up to 13 feet.

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