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How do estuarine crocodiles build their nests?

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Illustration of an estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) with its mouth open, showing scaly skin and powerful limbs, alongside a scale bar for size reference. — crocodile Estuarine, or saltwater, crocodile (*Crocodylus porosus*), found in brackish waters from Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar east to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and south to Australia.

Estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) construct nests by building a mound composed of soil and plant material. The female uses her mouth, limbs, body, and tail to assemble this mound.123

Once the mound is prepared, she digs a hole within it to deposit her eggs. The nest serves as an incubator where the eggs are warmed by a combination of solar heat and the heat generated by the natural decay of the vegetation. Throughout the incubation period, which lasts approximately 90 days, the female remains near the nest to defend her eggs from predators.132