424 RHINOCEROS OF THE LADO [ch. xn^ 



lizard plundering the nest of a crocodile. The monitors 

 were quite plentiful near camp. They are amphibious, 

 carnivorous lizards of large size ; they frequent the 

 banks of the river, running well on the land, and some- 

 times even climbing trees, but taking to the water when 

 alarmed. They feed on mice and rats, other lizards, 

 eggs, and fish ; the stomachs of those we caught 

 generally contained fish, for they are expert swimmers. 

 One morning I^oring surprised a monitor which had 

 just uncovered some crocodile eggs on a small sandy 

 beach. 'I'he eggs, about thirty in number, were buried 

 in rather shallow fashion, so that the monitor readily 

 uncovered them. The monitor had one of the eggs 

 transversely in its mouth, and, head erect, was marching 

 off with it. As soon as it saw Loring it dropped the 

 egg and scuttled into the reeds ; in a few minutes it 

 returned, took another egg, and walked off into the 

 bushes, where it broke the shell, swallowed the yolk, 

 and at once returned to the nest for another egg. 

 Loring took me out to see the feat repeated, replenish- 

 ing the rifled nest with eggs taken from a crocodile the 

 Doctor had shot ; and I was delighted to watch, from 

 our hiding-place, the big lizard as he cautiously ap- 

 proached, seized an egg, and then retired to cover with 

 his booty. Kermit came on a monitor plundering a 

 crocodile's nest at the top of a steep bank, while, 

 funnily enough, a large crocodile lay asleep at the foot 

 of the bank only a few yards distant. As soon as it 

 saw Kermit the monitor dropped the egg it was carrying, 

 ran up a slanting tree which overhung the river, and 

 dropped into the water like a snake-bird. 



There was always something interesting to do or to 

 see at this camp. One afternoon I spent in the boat. 

 The papyrus along the channel rose like a forest, thirty 



