﻿316 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  has 
  once 
  acquired 
  man-eating 
  habits, 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  preference 
  

   for 
  human 
  beings 
  as 
  food, 
  probably 
  because 
  they 
  are 
  more 
  easily 
  ob- 
  

   tained 
  than 
  wild 
  beasts. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  the 
  adult 
  crocodile 
  that 
  is 
  able 
  to 
  

   attack 
  man 
  and 
  large 
  animals. 
  Fish, 
  birds, 
  and 
  turtles 
  are 
  likewise 
  

   relished. 
  Young 
  ones 
  eat 
  crustaceans 
  and 
  even 
  insects. 
  The 
  female 
  

   makes 
  a 
  nest 
  of 
  reeds 
  and 
  rushes, 
  the 
  heat 
  of 
  decomposition 
  of 
  which 
  

   incubates 
  her 
  eggs. 
  The 
  Burmese 
  and 
  some 
  other 
  Asiatic 
  races 
  are 
  

   fond 
  of 
  the 
  flesh 
  of 
  this 
  crocodile, 
  while 
  the 
  Siamese 
  trap 
  it 
  for 
  its 
  

   gall 
  bladder, 
  believed 
  by 
  them 
  to 
  have 
  remarkable 
  medicinal 
  powers. 
  

  

  The 
  Siamese 
  Crocodile 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  Siamese 
  crocodile 
  (Crocodykis 
  siamensis) 
  grows 
  to 
  a 
  

   length 
  of 
  nearly 
  12 
  feet, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  aggressive 
  toward 
  adult 
  

   human 
  beings, 
  although 
  small 
  children 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  seized 
  sometimes. 
  

   In 
  the 
  rivers 
  it 
  prefers 
  to 
  stay 
  above 
  the 
  tidal 
  limits. 
  It 
  feeds 
  chiefly 
  

   upon 
  fish. 
  Its 
  flesh 
  is 
  sometimes 
  eaten 
  but 
  is 
  no 
  longer 
  a 
  regular 
  article 
  

   of 
  commerce. 
  

  

  The 
  Mugger 
  

  

  Two 
  other 
  popular 
  names 
  of 
  the 
  mugger 
  {Crocodylus 
  palustris) 
  are 
  

   the 
  marsh 
  and 
  the 
  broad-snouted 
  crocodile. 
  Its 
  range 
  extends 
  through- 
  

   out 
  the 
  whole 
  Indian 
  Peninsula 
  and 
  Ceylon, 
  west 
  almost 
  to 
  the 
  Per- 
  

   sian 
  frontier 
  in 
  Baluchistan, 
  north 
  to 
  Nepal 
  and 
  east 
  to 
  Assam. 
  It 
  

   lives 
  in 
  swamps 
  and 
  rivers, 
  usually 
  above 
  the 
  tide 
  line. 
  During 
  the 
  

   dry 
  season 
  it 
  buries 
  itself 
  in 
  the 
  mud 
  and 
  aestivates 
  until 
  the 
  rains 
  

   come. 
  It 
  feeds 
  chiefly 
  on 
  birds 
  and 
  fish, 
  and 
  only 
  occasionally 
  at- 
  

   tacks 
  man. 
  The 
  mugger 
  is 
  hunted 
  by 
  the 
  natives 
  of 
  Sind, 
  but 
  only 
  

   as 
  a 
  defensive 
  measure 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  protect 
  their 
  fish. 
  

  

  The 
  Gavial 
  

  

  Living 
  in 
  rivers 
  of 
  India 
  and 
  Burma, 
  the 
  gavial 
  (also 
  spelled 
  

   gharial) 
  (Gavialis 
  gangeticus) 
  reaches 
  a 
  length 
  of 
  over 
  21 
  feet. 
  Its 
  

   food 
  consists 
  mostly 
  of 
  fish, 
  with 
  some 
  birds, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  

   to 
  seize 
  goats 
  and 
  dogs. 
  It 
  rarely 
  attacks 
  man 
  and 
  hence 
  is 
  little 
  

   feared. 
  

  

  AFRICA 
  

  

  The 
  dangerous 
  nonvenomous 
  reptiles 
  found 
  in 
  Africa 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  

   same 
  groups 
  as 
  those 
  found 
  in 
  Asia 
  — 
  in 
  fact, 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  are 
  of 
  identical 
  

   species 
  on 
  both 
  continents. 
  

  

  The 
  Rock 
  Python 
  

  

  Reliable 
  records 
  indicate 
  that 
  the 
  rock 
  python 
  (Python 
  sebae, 
  pi. 
  23, 
  

   fig. 
  1) 
  grows 
  to 
  a 
  length 
  of 
  at 
  least 
  25 
  feet. 
  It 
  is 
  found 
  all 
  over 
  Africa 
  

   except 
  in 
  Egypt 
  and 
  the 
  Mediterranean 
  and 
  desert 
  regions 
  of 
  the 
  north. 
  

   It 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  some 
  localities 
  and 
  remains 
  so 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  

  

  