THE CROCODILIANS 67 



float with the body parallel with the top of the water — 

 a small portion of the head and of the rough back pro- 

 truding above the surface. From a short distance, old 

 individuals look precisely like floating logs. Both the 

 young and old are carnivorous — the young feeding 

 largely on fishes, the old ones stalking water fowl from 

 beneath the surface, or, in a like fashion, watching for 

 animals approaching the water to drink. 



Man-Eating Crocodiles: Several species — among 

 them the Salt Water Crocodile, Crocodilus porosus, and 

 the African Crocodile, C. niloticus — are notoriously 

 dangerous to man. Old examples will rush from a 

 stream, seize a human — adult or child — then drag the 

 prey into the water to drown. However, these man- 

 eating species are much in the minority. Most 

 of the crocodilians will rush for cover at the sight of 

 man. The American species seem to be particularly 

 inoffensive, though some grow to huge proportions. It 

 is probable, however, that certain particularly large in- 

 dividuals of any of the species might be tempted to 

 attack a man if he audaciously goes bathing in their 

 haunts. While there are no records of actual attacks 

 upon man by the American Alligator — apparently the 

 least vicious of all crocodilians — the writer has often 

 noted the suspicious and treacherous actions on the part 

 of very large captive alligators that have become too 

 bold to be trusted. He believes a man would be quickly 

 torn to pieces and devoured if he should fall into a tank 

 containing such creatures. 



Crocodilians produce their young from eggs, which 

 are elongated, white, shining and with a thick, hard 

 shell. The female either digs a hole in a sand bank 

 where the eggs are deposited, then covers them with 

 much care, or constructs a veritable nest, in the shape 



