Daira

Dairas are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. These enemies are anthropomorphic crocodiles clad in simple tunics and sporting crests somewhat similar to Mohawks.

The Adventure of Link
In their first appearance, Dairas come in two colors; orange and red. Orange swing their axes to damage Link while red Dairas are able to throw in front of their face direction. Their axe blows are powerful enough to go through Link's shield, however, their attacks can be blocked with the Reflect Spell. This make them the most powerful overworld enemy to be found in Western Hyrule.

Dairas appear mainly found in caves, although Red Dairas can be found in the graveyard. An error in the instruction manual lists Dairas as being swamp dwellers, but at no point in the game are they found there.

Interestingly, Dairas are the only enemies to have an orange variant of themselves while not having a blue variant.

It is possible that the Dairas are related to the Lizafols and Dinofols, but under what circumstances (storywise or designwise) is unknown.

A Link to the Past
Dairas are very different from their first incarnation in A Link to the Past. They are covered in fine armor and flowing capes, and come in blue and red varieties. Strangely, they do not wield weapons at all. Blue Dairas damage Link by running into him while the red Dairas spit fireballs in Link's direction. They are found in Thieves' Town and Ganon's Tower.

The Japanese name of these monsters is "Zazakku". They were never officially named in English. Despite the similar appearance, they may be a different monster all together.

Zelda CDi games
Dairas are one of very few traditional Zelda enemies to appear in the non-canonical CDi games.