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LXXX. The true fish-eating crocodile, Gavialis Gange* 

 ^ J( . JM ticus. Gmelin, which attains upwards 



The fish- eating crocodile. „ nr . n , -, ,1 • n i 



of 20 feet m length, is found 

 throughout the Indus, Ganges, Jumna, Brahmaputra, 

 Mahanuddi and their affluents, also in some of the interven- 

 ing rivers, but I have not observed it in Burma or Madras. 

 This species has a long and slender snout, is usually timid 

 of man, excepting when the locality where its eggs are 

 deposited in the sand is invaded. It does not appear to be 

 a feeder on carrion, but fish, turtles and tortoises form its 

 diet. In 1868 it was deemed one of the sights at Cuttack 

 to watch these enormous reptiles feeding below the irriga- 

 tion weir, which was impeding the upward ascent of breed- 

 ing-fish. Their long brown snouts would be seen rising to 

 the surface of the water, with a fish cross- wise in their jaws : 

 they tossed their heads, the finny prey was thus flung up 

 into the air, descending head foremost fell into their captors' 

 comparatively small mouths. One could not resist thinking 

 that the crocodiles were attempting to teach the Europeans 

 and natives a lesson, by practically demonstrating to them 

 the folly of permitting a wholesale waste of good 

 animal food to nourish the carcasses of huge useless reptiles, 

 and which might better be employed for the same purpose 

 by man. To show their fecundity, I may mention that the 

 overseer in charge of the Narraje weir, meeting with a 

 brood, destroyed G9 in three hours by shooting. At this 

 place I obtained a young one which had become entangled 

 by its teeth in a fishing net, and on enquiring of the fisher- 

 men whether they ever killed them, they at once protested 

 against such a course. Their argument was — " are not we 

 both of the fish-destrovinsr races, and how could we be so 

 cruel as to slaughter them ?" As to the destruction they 

 occasioned, they merely remarked that they would do the 

 same if they could, and I can personally testify to their 

 catching all they were able. However, it must not be ex- 

 pected that fishermen will destroy those vermin when young, 

 neither will they shoot them when old, as they do not employ 

 guns. But will the native sportsman be likely to do this ? 

 Certainly not, as he has no inducement to do so, and he will 

 never waste his ammunition on crocodiles, which would be of 

 no advantage to him when killed. With fisheries that are 

 deteriorating, the presence of these large fish- eating rej^tiles 

 might be dispensed with, as they are not required to keep 

 up the balance of Nature, neither are they useful as 



