There are no quantitative data documenting the habitat preferences of this species in the European region.

This species is a generalist in terms of habitat preferences. In West Africa, it is known to inhabit both rainforest rivers and savannah waterbodies, and it also occurs in marine waters all throughout its range (van Djik et al. 2017). It inhabits relatively deep water in permanent lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal lagoons. It is tolerant of full seawater conditions for some time (Branch 1988, Baran and Atatur 1998, Taşkavak and Akçınar 2008)), but the populations occurring in brackish and salt waters are never characterized by a high number of individuals, at least in West Africa (Luiselli, Segniagbeto and Akani, unpublished data). In Israel, the quality of the habitat, and availability of nesting sites, varies with river fluctuations. It feeds on a variety of animal prey (molluscs, insects, crustaceans, frogs, fish), carrion, and vegetarian items (palm nuts, fruits) (Branch 1988, Gramentz 1993, Boycott and Bourquin 2000). The females produce clutches of 25-55 eggs in exposed sandbanks and banks with heavier soil (in Israel for example) and narrow slopes of the vegetated sand dunes (Türkozan et al. 2006, Yılmaz et al. 2020) along rivers (Branch 1988, Spawls et al. 2002). The mean number of eggs deposited by each female was 21 along a long-term study spanning 10 years of monitoring (see Yılmaz et al. 2020). However, the mean clutch size (40.7 eggs) in Türkiye was similar to that in the Alexander River in Israel (40.0 eggs; Leshem et al. 1991) but higher than in Dalyan (23.0 eggs; Türkozan et al. 2006), Dalaman (31.2 eggs; Gidiş and Kaska 2004), Belek (32.0 eggs) and Göksu Delta (29.0 eggs) (Candan 2018) and lower than at Burnaz (48.0 eggs) (Candan 2018). Age at maturity and clutch frequency are unreported. Captive animals have reached over 42 years of age (Branch 1988).

Within the European region, this species has a very marginal distribution. The species was first reported in Europe in 1992 from Kos Island in the eastern Aegean, and the authors suggested that the animal, entangled in fishing gear, may have drifted some way from its original range (Taşkavak et al. 1999). Corsini-Foka and Masseti (2008) report that the species is occasionally seen in the open sea off the coast of other Dodecanese islands (Laymnos, Leros, Rhodes), with live specimens "often" caught by fishers near Laymnos, Leros, and Kos. Unfortunately, no quantitative data are reported for the frequency of these captures. Corsini-Foka and Masseti (2008) also reported an earlier record for Greece; a preserved specimen on Rhodes is attributed to the island of Symi, where it was collected in the 1950s. In the European Mediterranean region, the species is only found at sea level.

The species has a mostly a non-European distribution, being widespread in the African continent with fragmented and relatively threatened subpopulations in West and Central Africa and with abundant and continuous subpopulations along the River Nile in East and north-eastern Africa (van Djik et al. 2017). The species ranges widely in Africa, north along the Nile to the Eastern Mediterranean. In West Africa it has recently been observed also in Senegal, thus representing the westernmost area of native occurrence for the species. It formerly occurred more widely in the coastal regions of southern Türkiye, western Lebanon and in the Mediterranean coastal area of Israel from Tel Aviv northwards. The species is recently reported from Lebanon (Carlino et al. 2019) after several decades. It has not been reported from Syria, although vagrants might occur here. It has been introduced into the Jordan River system in the north including Hula Lake. It occurs in the Nile River basin from Egypt, and in river basins in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, and in coastal and inland river systems from the Senegal (Mauritania-Senegal) river to the Cunene (Namibia) (Iverson 1992, Branch 1988, Boycott and Bourquin 2000, Spawls et al. 2002). It ranges from below sea level to possibly over 1,500 m (in Africa).

The species is in Annex 1 and in Annex II (strictly protected fauna species) of the Bern Convention. It is also in Annex II (Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation) of the Barcelona Convention Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol). The species is included in CITES Appendix III, pertaining to the subpopulation of Ghana.

Information on the population status and trend data for the European region is needed. Awareness of the species' ecology may help counteract wanton killing by fishermen.