NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



strong, and the others correspondingly weak. He 

 will then be a slave to his passions — a man devoid of 

 moral and aesthetic sense. Such a man is lower than 

 an animal, for the reason that the former often indulges 

 his animal appetites so freely and so frequently that 

 he loses control of them. They become abnormal, 

 and master him. For instance, he will slay for the 

 mere lust and pleasure of killing, and boast aloud of 

 his prowess. On the contrary, the carnivorous animals 

 kill for food only, for they know no other means of 

 sustaining themselves. 



The crocodile is presented to us as the incarnation 

 of all that is cold-blooded, cruel, and implacable — 

 devoid of reason or moral sense. Yet this same reptile 

 can teach us a lesson. When lying basking in the 

 sun, birds gather around its head and feed upon gnats 

 and flies which disturb its slumbers. When the 

 crocodile gapes its jaws to allow the sun rays to warm 

 up the cavernous depths, the birds do not hesitate to 

 pursue and snap up their prey even inside those 

 terrible jaws, which could snap like a spring trap. 

 The crocodile is only a reptile, yet it is sufficiently 

 intelligent to recognise the bird as a benefactor, and 

 treats it as such. 



What return does man make for the services of 

 birds in making it possible to grow crops or to save 

 his pasture lands and forests from annihilation ? 

 Does he befriend and protect these true and faithful 

 allies ? No ; on the contrary he ravages their homes ; 

 wounds, maims, and kills them. The remnant, in 

 terror, flee to the wilderness, or, forced by hunger, 



l 5* 



