CROCODILES AND SNAKES 
269 
the water they seem, almost like different creatures, so swiftly and 
easily do they pass along, and so active and even graceful are their 
movements. 
The crocodile swims, not like the otter, by means of its legs, 
but, like the whale, by the aid of its tail. The tail of the crocodile is 
very large and can be used with terrible effect as a weapon, when it is 
lashed fiercely from side to side by the angry animal. But this very 
same movement, which is useful in one way upon dry ground, is useful 
in another in the water, serving to drive the animal rapidly along. 
But speed is not enough. The crocodile is a beast of prey and 
feeds upon many creatures which are even faster and more active than 
itself. How is it to catch these? It cannot overtake them, and if it 
merely floats upon the surface of the water, they are far too wary to 
venture within its reach. How is it, then, to manage? 
This question we may answer easily enough, by merely looking 
at the structure of its nostrils. Instead of being placed in the usual 
position, they are situated upon a kind of prominence at the end of 
the snout, so that the animal can sink its body wholly beneath the 
water, and yet be able to breathe without difficulty. All that is then 
visible is the extreme tip of the nostrils, and even this projects so 
slightly above the surface that it cannot be seen without great diffi¬ 
culty. And so a dog or a bird might come to drink within a foot of 
its terrible enemy, and yet know nothing of its presence until safely 
enclosed in the murderous jaws. Then, again, supposing that the 
crocodile sees an animal some distance away, it can swim closely up 
to its unsuspecting victim without showing even its head above the 
water, and so, often succeeds by craft when open attack would fail. 
There is another way, also, in which its elevated nostrils are of 
service to the crocodile. When it has seized a large animal which 
might struggle for a long time and perhaps even break free if merely 
held in the mouth, the crocodile immediately sinks beneath the surface 
of the stream and holds its prey there until it is drowned. Meanwhile, 
however, the crocodile itself can breathe quite freely, as long as its 
nostrils are not under water, although its mouth be quite submerged. 
Fighting Crocodiles. —Among themselves the crocodiles are 
usually quite peaceful. But at the pairing season there are often 
