West African slender-snouted crocodile
West African slender-snouted crocodileWest African slender-snouted crocodileWest African slender-snouted crocodileWest African slender-snouted crocodile

West African slender-snouted crocodile

Mecistops cataphractus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
50–60% · Likely
overall probability at Taï National Park
12 Verified records at Taï National Park
April Best month highest sighting rate
🌅 Crepuscular When it's active at dawn and dusk

The West African slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus), or slender-snouted crocodile, is a critically endangered species of African crocodile. It is one of five species of crocodile in Africa, the other four being the Central African slender-snouted, Nile, West African and dwarf crocodiles. The slender-snouted crocodile (M. cataphractus) was thought to be distributed across west Africa and into central Africa but the central African species has been separated as the Central African slender-snouted crocodile (M. leptorhynchus) based on studies in 2014 and 2018 that indicated that both were distinct species. The name cataphractus is retained for the West African species as that species was described first based on specimens from western Africa. The two species diverged about 6.5–7.5 mya, living in different river drainage zones that were geographically separated from each other by the Cameroon Line. Wikipedia →

50–60% of wildlife watchers report a West African slender-snouted crocodile sighting in Taï National Park, based on 12 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

📅 Monthly Probability

40–50
Jan
40–50
Feb
40–50
Mar
70–80
Apr
60–70
May
40–50
Jun
40–50
Jul
40–50
Aug
20–30
Sep
40–50
Oct
40–50
Nov
40–50
Dec

🌅 When They're Spotted

Most active at dawn and dusk · across all parks (global)

🌅Crepuscular
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Taï National Park 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast
50–60%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a West African slender-snouted crocodile in Taï National Park?

About 51% of wildlife watchers report a West African slender-snouted crocodile sighting in Taï National Park, based on 12 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see West African slender-snouted crocodile in Taï National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for West African slender-snouted crocodile in Taï National Park in our monthly data.

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