ADVENTURES WITH CROCODILES ;? 



which are quite immune are the hippopotamus and the 

 elephant. The rhinoceros might, perhaps, have been con- 

 sidered large enough to escape attack ; but in " African 

 Nature Notes " Mr. Selous relates how one was pulled 

 down and drowned by crocodiles in the Tana, an incident 

 actually witnessed by an American sportsman, Mr. 

 Fleischmann, who was able to take photographs of the 

 incident. Should an animal be on the bank, close to, 

 but not actually in the water, it may be overbalanced 

 and knocked in by a deft blow from the crocodile's tail. 

 I have known both white men and natives to have very 

 narrow escapes in this way, and it is, in fact, never safe 

 to stand less than three feet from the water if there is 

 any likelihood of a crocodile's presence and you are un- 

 attended. This is specially applicable to fishing in deep 

 and discoloured pools. 



Having drowned his victim, the crocodile next pro- 

 ceeds to dispose of it. Having a deep-rooted objection 

 to fresh meat, he selects some convenient ledge or cavity 

 below water-level, where his food may be stowed until 

 sufficiently ripe to satisfy his taste. The banks of most 

 African rivers are undercut by the current in many places, 

 thereby providing convenient storehouses, at or near 

 the entrance to which the saurian mounts guard. A 

 story has been related of a native who, having been 

 seized by a crocodile and half drowned, returned to 

 consciousness, to find himself in a cavern under the bank, 

 but just above the water-line. Immediately above his 

 head the earth had fallen in, and there was a hole through 

 which daylight was visible. Collecting all his energies, 

 he sprang for this, and scrambling out safely, though in 

 dire fear of pursuit, arrived at his village, somewhat 

 the worse for the adventure. Here he found 

 further difficulties confronting him, his relatives 



