Meet King Croc: Huge crocodile greets Dubai Mall visitors

From housing sharks to penguins to relics of a dinosaur, it seems sky is the limit to animal exhibits malls in Dubai can have. This time, Dubai Mall’s newest resident wild animal is a 40-year-old Australian saltwater crocodile.

King Croc, one of the largest reptiles to ever be in captivity, was unveiled as the newest addition to the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in Dubai Mall on Tuesday. The 750kg reptile travelled 10,950km with his mate of 20 years, dubbed Queen Croc, from the Koorana Crocodile Farm in Queensland to Dubai earlier in June.

Previously known as Jock the Croc, King Croc is more than five metres long and has the potential to grow even bigger in the next 50 years.

The couple’s new home is a specially built enclosure three times the size specified for such species by the World Association of Zoos.

Paul Hamilton, head curator at the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, said the enclosure mimics the crocodile’s natural habitat in that humidity and air quality is constantly monitored and controlled. It features a 150 sq m pool, temperature-controlled to between 28 and 30 degree Celsius. Bird and fish species similar to those of the croc’s habitat have been introduced in the enclosure.