2l8 



EASTERN ETHIOPIA 



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

 o'izzard ; 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 c|uickly dissolved. 



How indifferently crocodiles take toll of animals at 

 and in the rivers or pools is testified by the following 

 olijects 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 



j^"^.. 



Side View of tlie 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, 

 Roj'al 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 olijects 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 Eoyal 

 College of Surgeons, England. 



