'Crocodiles' spotted off Yorkshire Coast - but what are the chances one will be seen in Sussex?

Our sister title, The Scarborough News, published video footage on Tuesday (September 27), appearing to show ‘crocodiles’ just off the coastline at Blue Dolphin Caravan Park, between Cayton Bay and Filey. Sarah Craven filmed the footage whilst out on a walk with her family.

However, Dr Angela Julian, co-ordinator at Amphibian and Reptile Groups UK, said: “Crocodiles are a tropical/sub tropical species, not native to Europe, and are extremely unlikely to be swimming in the North Sea, particularly in the cold of late september.”

Having looked at the video footage, Dr Julian and her colleagues came to the conclusion that it actually shows rocks, adding: “The video is not great quality so it's hard to tell what they are seeing but not crocodiles.

"Crocodiles of the World also suggested that this does happen occasionally – but in their experience they are generally floating debris.”

Where do crocodiles live?

Europe is the ‘only continent’ that crocodiles ‘don’t natively live in’, according to factanimal.com.

A total of 18 different extant species of crocodile have been identified, including the American crocodile, the freshwater crocodile, the dwarf crocodile, the Nile crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.

Crocodiles are semi-aquatic, large reptiles that live in the Americas, Australia, Africa and Asia.

They are members of the order Crocodilia, which also includes alligators, caimans, and gharials.

They reside in wetland areas, including freshwater rivers and lakes, as well as saltwater, in estuaries, lagoons or mangrove swamps – ‘rather than far out at sea’.

Difference between crocodiles and alligators

Crocodiles and alligators are similar in their appearance but they actually belong to separate biological families.

A factanimal.com profile read: “An easy way to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, is when a crocodile closes its mouth, all teeth are visible – as the upper and lower jaw are the same width.

“Whereas an alligator possesses small depressions in the upper jaw for the lower teeth, meaning they are not visible when their mouth is shut.

“Another key difference to an alligator is snout shape. Alligators have wider, U-shaped snouts, while crocodiles are more pointed and V-shaped.

“Crocodiles are generally a little more aggressive, and often larger and stronger, too.”

Click here to learn more about crocodiles.