CROCODILES 131 



months in the country, the crocodile was the 

 only one whose body or skin was not put to 

 some useful purpose. 



While lions also prey on the natives, their 

 mode of attack and their entire life is so differ- 

 ent from that of a crocodile that their crimes 

 do not seem as repulsive. A lion will not hesi- 

 tate to risk its life in a fight for food and, in a 

 way, will give its victim a chance to protect 

 itself, but a croc shows no quarter; it drowns 

 its prey without endangering itself, and then 

 leaves the body in a hole, or on a ledge under 

 water, to be devoured at leisure. Instead of 

 enjoying life in an active, intelligent manner, as 

 most animals do, its only ambition is to bask in 

 the sun until hunger compels it to commit an- 

 other crime. Of what use is such a creature 

 either to itself or to the world at large, and why 

 did nature place such an animal on earth? 



In the stomach of a crocodile killed by Kermit 

 Roosevelt were found the claws of a cheetah, 

 the hoofs of an impala, the bones of an eland, 

 and the shell plates of a river-turtle. Not 

 only do crocodiles slay wild animals, but they 

 prey extensively upon sheep, goats, donkeys, 

 horses, dogs, and cattle. Once a camel that had 



