. Earlier studies support that breeding is often inconsistent in females less than and clutch size is smaller, a female at reportedly never lays more than 35 eggs, while a female measuring can expect a clutch of up to 95 eggs. In "stunted" newly mature females from Lake Turkana measuring , the average clutch size was only 15. Graham and Beard (1968) hypothesized that, while females do continue to grow as do males throughout life, that past a certain age and size that females much over in length in Lake Turkana no longer breed (supported by the physiology of the females examined here); however, subsequent studies in Botswana and South Africa have found evidence of nesting females at least in length. In the Olifants River in South Africa, rainfall influenced the size of nesting females as only larger females (greater than ) nested during the driest years. Breeding females along the Olifants were overall larger than those in Zimbabwe. Most females nest only every two to three years while mature males may breed every year. During the mating season, males attract females by bellowing, slapping their snouts in the water, blowing water out of their noses, and making a variety of other noises. Among the larger males of a population, territorial clashes can lead to physical fighting between males especially if they are near the same size. Such clashes can be brutal affairs and can end in mortality but typically end with victor and loser still alive, the latter withdrawing into deep waters. Once a female has been attracted, the pair warble and rub the undersides of their jaws together. Compared to the tender behaviour of the female accepting the male, copulation is rather rough (even described as "rape"-like by Graham & Beard (1968)) in which the male often roars and pins the female underwater. Cott noted little detectable discrepancy in the mating habits of Nile crocodiles and American alligators. In some regions, males have reportedly mated with several females, perhaps any female that enters his claimed territory, though in most regions annual monogamy appears to be most common in this species. Females lay their eggs about one to two months after mating. The nesting season can fall in nearly every month of the year. In the northern extremes of the distribution (i.e. Somalia or Egypt), the nesting season is December through February while in the southern limits (i.e. South