THE CROCODILIANS 67 



float with the body parallel with the top of the water — 

 a small portion of the head and of the rough back pro- 

 truding above the surface. From a short distance, old 

 individuals look precisely like floating logs. Both the 

 young and old are carnivorous — the young feeding 

 largely on fishes, the old ones stalking water fowl from 

 beneath the surface, or, in a like fashion, watching for 

 animals approaching the water to drink. 



Man-Eating Crocodiles: Several species — among 

 them the Salt Water Crocodile, Crocodilus porosus, and 

 the African Crocodile, C. niloticus — are notoriously 

 dangerous to man. Old examples will rush from a 

 stream, seize a human — adult or child — then drag the 

 prey into the water to drown. However, these man- 

 eating species are much in the minority. Most 

 of the crocodilians will rush for cover at the sight of 

 man. The American species seem to be particularly 

 inofi^ensive, though some grow to huge proportions. It 

 is probable, however, that certain particularly large in- 

 dividuals of any of the species might be tempted to 

 attack a man if he audaciously goes bathing in their 

 haunts. While there are no records of actual attacks 

 upon man by the American Alligator — apparently the 

 least vicious of all crocodilians — the writer has often 

 noted the suspicious and treacherous actions on the part 

 of very large captive alligators that have become too 

 bold to be trusted. He believes a man would be quickly 

 torn to pieces and devoured if he should fall into a tank 

 containing such creatures. 



Crocodilians produce their young from eggs, which 

 are elongated, white, shining and with a thick, hard 

 shell. The female either digs a hole in a sand bank 

 where the eggs are deposited, then covers them with 

 much care, or constructs a veritable nest, in the shape 



