70 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



than eighteen feet long. Eventually I succeeded in shooting 

 and landing him, and the measurements proved him just 

 half an inch under fourteen feet, with a girth of six feet 

 seven inches at the shoulders. The majority of large 

 crocodiles killed and measured in the Game Reserves 

 have averaged about twelve feet over all. In more 

 tropical rivers they may attain a larger size. I shot one 

 in the Lujenda river, and another in the Nile, near the 

 head of Lake Albert, which I believed at the time to be 

 longer and bulkier than any I had ever seen in the south ; 

 but I was unable to recover either, and appearances are 

 proverbially deceptive. 



These reptiles are extraordinarily tough and tenacious 

 of life, and, unless killed stone dead, almost invariably 

 manage to slip into the water, when, if not wounded in 

 a vital spot, they probably ultimately recover. Being 

 capable of going for long periods without any food, 

 temporary inability to hunt no doubt inconveniences 

 them in only a minor degree. A shot in the brain is, of 

 course, immediately fatal ; but in a crocodile that organ 

 is of such small dimensions that very accurate mark- 

 manship and some knowledge of anatomy are requisite. 

 It may be, however, the only possible target, as, for 

 instance, when the reptile is floating with merely his head 

 above water. Aim should be taken a little behind the 

 eye, when he is side on ; while, should he be facing you, 

 a bullet just between the two eyes may at least lay tare 

 the brain, and so prove fatal. When a crocodile, lying 

 at full length on land, presents a side shot, it is generally 

 best to fire right at the middle of the shoulder ; this will 

 very likely pierce the heart, and if it does not, it will at 

 least so cripple and paralyse the animal that time will 

 be afforded for a second attempt. I have killedja great 

 many crocodiles in this way which never moved after 



