The Crocodilians 



caught away from the water and prevented from seeking its 

 escape in the element in which it is so agile ana at ease. The 

 tail and jaws of an alligator seven or eight feet in length are 

 formidable weapons and usually put into simultaneous action. 

 Unable to turn the head to any extent, upon the short, thick 

 neck, the reptile bends its entire body, in bow-like fashion, reach- 

 ing sideways at an enemy, this motion bringing the tail around 

 toward the head and with force enough to knock a man from 

 his feet and sweep him in the direction of the infuriated brute's 

 crushing powers. The jaws possess great strength, and, armed 

 as they are, with large and numerous teeth, could crush the 

 bones of a man's arm or leg without difficulty. In snapping 

 at an object that has greatly provoked its anger, the jaws of a 

 large alligator will often come together with a deep, booming 

 sound, not unlike the striking of a bass drum. 



If discovered in its basking place and the escape is not cut 

 ofT the wild alligator will always rush for the water in clumsy 

 fashion, plunge in and dive out of sight. So great is this reptile's 

 fear of man that no matter what may be the size of the saurian, 

 from a twelve-inch "barker" up to a twelve-foot bull that shakes 

 the night air of the lagoons with his bellowings, the same shyness 

 is to be noted. A man may with perfect safety go bathing in 

 waters inhabited by alligators and feel assured that his presence 

 has inspired the reptiles to place a substantial distance between 

 him and themselves. 



The food of the alligator consists of fish, mammals and birds. 

 The younger individuals feed largely upon the former, together 

 with frogs, tadpoles and insects. Water fowl fall the frequent 

 prey of the big specimens which approach the unsuspecting 

 quarry from below as the latter paddle upon the surface. A 

 ten-foot alligator can easily swallow a medium-sized duck, entire. 



If the prey is too large to be swallowed whole, it is shaken 

 violently and thus torn. This shaking process is so vigorous that 

 the entrails of the prey are often sent flying for a distance of 

 twenty feet or more. Sometimes, when swimming for shallow 

 water, there to swallow the food, another alligator is met and 

 the two reptiles indulge in a not altogether bad-tempered tear- 

 ing up of the food. Each takes a firm hold and turns around 

 bodily in the water in an opposite direction from that of the 

 adversary. The manoeuvre soon divides the morsel. As the 



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