LIZARDS, CROCODILES, AND TORTOISES 327 



pond it is often no easy matter to dislodge them 

 from it. For many years after the formation of the 

 Zoological Garden in Alipur it was useless to try 

 to stock the ponds with water-fowl, as the only 

 result of doing so was to provide a feast for a 

 horde of crocodiles who inhabited them. At that 

 time, too, the enclosure was liable to be flooded 

 every autumn by the high tides that came up a 

 neighbouring water- course and left a deposit of river- 

 tortoises and young crocodiles, so that there appeared 

 to be little use in trying to get rid of those pre- 

 viously present in the locality until the possibility 

 of recurrent importation had been done away with 

 by special drainage and embankments. But even 

 then, it was only after many attempts that a 

 thorough clearance was effected. A certain number 

 of the resident reptiles were gradually shot down, 

 and then heroic measures were undertaken to pump 

 out the entire system of ponds so as to allow of 

 careful search for those that survived. This resulted 

 in the capture of a few crocodiles, who were found 

 buried in the mud and in holes in the banks, and 

 it was fondly hoped that any others that were 

 originally present when the process of pumping 

 began had migrated when they found the water 

 becoming inconveniently low. It did not take 

 long to discover how futile this hope was ; for 

 hardly had the ponds been refilled and experi- 

 mentally stocked with a few pelicans, before the fate 



