ORINOCO CROCODILE 
Another crocodile of great ferocity is the Orinoco crocodile of South 
Ameiica. Baron Alexander von Humboldt reported seeing specimens twenty- 
five feet long, but more recent explorers describe ten feet as a fair length. 
In 1930 over 200,000 skins of this species and of the caymans inhabiting 
the same region were exported. However, the Orinoco crocodiles are still 
abundant enough to do much harm to natives who, in retaliation, destroy 
their nests. The presence of these creatures in the Guianas is one of the 
numerous factors that make escape from the French (Guiana) penal colony 
difficult. Many escaping convicts have met a swift and terrible death in the 
reptiles’ powerful jaws. 
SWAMP CROCODILE 
All crocodiles are not man-eating. Among the comparatively harmless 
vaiieties is the twelve-foot Indian mugger, inhabiting the swamps of India, 
Ceylon and Java, which, though cannibalistic, does not molest man. Noted 
for its timidity, the mugger spends its time well hidden in its native bogs, 
except during periods of drought, when it moves about for considerable 
distances in search of water. During the long dry season, the muggers 
estivate in the mud, emerging from their sleep in time to greet the tor- 
rential rains. 
The mugger is held sacred by the Hindus. At Mugger-Pir, near 
Karachi, about one hundred and fifty of the reptiles have long been fed 
and cared for. For a fee the fakir in charge will amuse sightseers by throw¬ 
ing the crocodiles a goat or the carcass of some other animal, and the entire 
reptilian population of the swamp will come forth and struggle for the 
prey. A British army lieutenant is alleged to have crossed the swamp by 
stepping over the backs of the crowded reptiles. One large crocodile, known 
as the chief, is described as living in a solitary state, permitting none 
other to share its abode. 
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