218 EASTERN ETHIOPIA xvn 



The stomach is a globular organ not unlike a bird's 

 gizzard ; this is due to the fact that it has a tendinous 

 centre in each wall, and its cavity often contains stones, 

 The digestive power of the gastric secretions is very 

 great ; animal flesh and bones are quickly dissolved. 



How indifferently crocodiles take toll of animals at 

 and in the rivers or pools is testified by the following 

 objects found in the stomach of a crocodile twelve feet 

 long, killed by K. Roosevelt in the Guaso Nyero, British 

 East Africa : it " had in its belly sticks, stones, the 

 claws of a cheetah, the hoofs of an impalla, and the big 

 bones of an eland, together with the shell plates of one 



Side View of the Skull of a Crocodile. 

 The brute had been a terror to the inhabitants of the 

 Nile, near Silsilis. When shot, its stomach con- 

 tained three hoofs of a sheep, a donkey's hoof, a 

 donkey's bridle, and a boy's ear-ring. (Museum, 

 Royal College of Surgeons. ) 



of the large river turtles." The usual food of the croco- 

 dile is fish, and the bodies of drowned animals. 



There are good reasons for the belief that some croco- 

 diles, like aged lions, tigers, or leopards, turn man- 

 eaters. An old crocodile shot in the Nile near Silsilis 

 in 1877, had been a terror to the inhabitants of a long 

 stretch of the valley. The following objects were found 

 in its stomach : 



Three hoofs of a sheep, a donkey's hoof, a donkey's 

 bridle, and a boy's ear-ring. This crocodile measured 

 15 ft. 9 in. and was reputed to be eighty years of age. 

 Its skeleton is preserved in the museum of the Royal 

 College of Surgeons, England. 



