![African dwarf crocodile walking on sand dotted with crab grass](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-hero-dwarf-croc.jpg)
African dwarf crocodile
![lizard](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-icon-reptiles.png)
Reptiles
![Map of Africa](/sites/default/files/2017-07/maps-africa.png)
![](/sites/default/files/2017-04/endangered_graph_threatened.png)
Threatened
facts
![African dwarf crocodile next to an average American bed](/sites/default/files/2017-12/card-bed-size-dwarf-crocodile.png)
![carnivore](/sites/default/files/2017-07/food-carne.png)
![water habitat](/sites/default/files/2017-07/habitats-nearwater.png)
description
![Close-up of a dwarf crocodile's head, showing its teeth even with its mouth closed](/sites/default/files/2017-12/dwarf-crocodile.jpg)
Think small
Just 5 feet long, the African dwarf crocodile is is one of the smallest crocodile species. Rainforests, swamps, and slow-moving rivers of West Africa give it the perfect habitat. This croc looks for food at night and eats mostly small animals like crabs, snails, frogs, and fish.
![Dwarf crocodile with mouth wide open sitting on log](/sites/default/files/2017-12/dwarf-croc-log.jpg)
In a tree?
African dwarf crocodiles spend most of the day in the water, but if the sun shines, they may slide up onto a log to soak up the sunshine. These crocs can also climb, and they sometimes hang out in the lower branches of trees!
![Dwarf crocodile hatching from its egg](/sites/default/files/2017-12/dwarf-croc-hatching.jpg)
Good moms
African dwarf crocodiles are great mothers. After mating, a female lays her eggs in a mound of leaves, to keep them warm. She guards her nest until the eggs hatch, and then watches over her babies.