CROCODILES, ALLIGATORS, ETC. 45 



The breeding habits of the AlHgator are of very con- 

 siderable interest. The female lays her eggs, which number 

 from twenty to thirty, in a nest constructed of twigs, 

 leaves, rushes, etc., which are packed down by the animal 

 on an elevation some two or three feet high, on the bank 

 of the river or lagoon, a few yards away from the hole she 

 inhabits. The eggs having been deposited in the nest, 

 which measures from seven to ten feet in diameter, they 

 are immediately covered over with damp, decaying vege- 

 table matter, which evidently helps in their incubation, 

 as the inside is always damp, however high the temperature 

 outside may be. They are hatched in about two months. 

 For a few hours prior to breaking through the egg-shells, 

 the young alligators make a loud squeaking noise for 

 the purpose of attracting their mother's attention, in 

 order that the nest may be opened up for them, as 

 otherwise they would, in all probability, be incapable of 

 digging their way out of the compact mass of twigs and 

 reeds. 



Alligators, although treacherous and vicious beasts, are 

 great cowards, and captive specimens give little trouble, 

 the keepers in our Zoological Gardens entering the tank 

 of the largest specimens, for cleaning out purposes, without 

 running the slightest danger of being attacked. 



Adult specimens, when excited or annoyed, will fre- 

 quently produce loud and prolonged roaring sounds, not 

 unlike those of a lion. 



The Chinese Alligator, A. sinensis^ whose home is the 

 Yang-tse-Kiang, may be distinguished from its American 

 ally by the fact that the fingers are entirely free from a 

 web, and by the dorsal scutes of the broadest series 



