84 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



Among the intricate swamps and lagoons of Florida 

 and Georgia, the alligator yet exists in moderate num- 

 bers. In comparative^ open situations, along rivers 

 and lakes, the hunt for individuals of a size to yield 

 commercially valuable hides has produced practical ex- 

 termination. 



With the present reptile we have one of the few 

 crocodilians giving voice to a loud sound — a bellow or 

 roar. A five-foot specimen emits a series of sounds not 

 unlike the "mooing" of a cow, though shorter and more 

 guttural. A ten or twelve-foot specimen lets out a 

 rattling bellow that shakes the night air of the lagoons 

 and may be heard for a mile. When so performing, 

 the males emit vapory jets of musk from the glands on 

 the chin. This saturates the surrounding, humid atmos- 

 phere, then, traveling on an indolent air current, attracts 

 company to the solitary bellower. 



Hunting for many miles along the Savannah River, 

 the writer was not once rewarded in seeing an alligator. 

 The search was primarily for water snakes, but our eyes 

 were ever on the alert over those coffee-colored waters 

 for the floating black line — so much like a log — showing 

 the presence of a saurian. At length we struck inland, 

 through the river low grounds. Lagoons bordered with 

 hea^-y timber alternated with vast savannas. Through 

 the timber, every tree was enormously broad at the base, 

 this development giving way to a slender trunk — and all 

 painted yellow for a height of at least a yard from the 

 rise of the big stream during the freshets. In pools 

 sheltered by these queer forests we found alligators — 

 fairly secure from molestation. One nest was inves- 

 tigated. It consisted of a mound of water-soaked twigs, 

 dead masses of the hanging moss that had dropped 

 from the trees and other debris. The mound was about 



