Virgin birth’: How did a crocodile make herself pregnant?

Costa Rica: An American alligator gets herself pregnant without mating. This is a rare occurrence at a zoo in Costa Rica.

Reproduction was done by an 18-year-old female crocodile without mating with male crocodiles. In addition, tests have now found that the embryo has 99.9 percent genetic similarity with the mother crocodile.

A DNA test reveals that the baby was born out of wedlock. The study has been published in the journal Biology Letters, surprising the scientific world.

This American crocodile was brought to a zoo in Costa Rica when he was two years old. Most of the time it grows alone and not with other crocodiles. Out of the 14 eggs laid, one was fully grown but did not survive.

The scientific world describes the phenomenon of producing babies without mating as facultative parthenogenesis.

Some species have the ability to produce offspring without mating. This phenomenon is seen in sharks, birds, snakes and lizards. And that's normal. But so far, there is no record of such an event in crocodiles. Warren Booth has said.