Dubai’s King and Queen Croc unlikely to have offspring

King and Queen Croc were unveiled in a fanfare of publicity just over two weeks ago at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in Dubai Mall.

King Croc, a 5m, 750kg Australian saltwater crocodile, and his queen have thrilled visitors to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo since being unveiled to the public a fortnight ago. Jeffrey E Biteng / Show more

DUBAI // King Croc and Queen Croc, the two newest arrivals at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in Dubai Mall, are unlikely to ever breed.

The giant Australian crocodiles were unveiled in a fanfare of publicity just over two weeks ago.

The aquarium is their permanent home and their enclosure has been designed to make sure they have plenty of room as they continue to grow, but that doesn’t mean little crocs any time soon.

“The queen croc is significantly older than the king croc and as such as is at the end of her reproductive era,” said Paul Hamilton, head curator at Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo. “They have not produced any offspring for a number of years now.”

At 750 kilograms and 5.1 metres long, King Croc is one of the biggest of his species and at an estimated 40 years of age has many more decades of life left.

“Saltwater crocodiles can live in excess of 100 years and we intend keeping them as part of our permanent display,” Mr Hamilton said.

The two reptiles were flown to Dubai from their original home at a botanical garden in Queensland, Australia, a couple of weeks before their official unveiling to the public and are slowly settling into their new life.

“The crocodiles are comfortably settling into their new home as is evident from their behavioural patterns,” Mr Hamilton said.

“While their feeding is yet to become regular, a trait common with crocodiles, they have started to become familiar with the food that is being served to them, which is an extremely positive sign.”

Although King Croc in particular was known to be a problem animal because of his aggressive nature in Australia, the couple seem to have mellowed a little in their new surroundings.

“So far we are impressed by how quickly they are settling in,” Mr Hamilton said.

“Crocodiles have all the time in the world, but these two seem to have quickly settled into their new home in Dubai.

“Both are pretty much taking things easy. You can spot King Croc blowing water bubbles towards the queen, as well as an increase in physical contact, indicating that they are starting to relax.

“We have invested in what we consider to be the best indoor facility ever built. A key aspect of the crocodile display is as an educational one for school groups.The education department will now be creating crocodile-specific school-group packages,” Mr Hamilton said.

The crocodiles have proved a hit with visitors who are awestruck at seeing the animals close up.

“Everyone has seen crocodiles on television, but you don’t appreciate how big they really are until you see them in real life,” said Joseph Dickson, from the UK.

“They are really impressive creatures and the fact that you can see them from above really helps in understanding their true size.”

For eight-year-old Tamara Fernandez, from India, who was on the last day of a family holiday to Dubai, getting so close to the reptiles was an exciting experience.

“They got really close to the glass when they swam past and it was amazing to see them so close up. Most of the time they stayed in one place. I would have liked to have seen how they were fed.”

Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo is open 10am to 1am daily during Ramadan.