National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-01-16
CROCODILE APPETITES.
SOCIAL AND DOM ESTIC ETHICS AMONG
THE CROCODnES OF INDIA

tFrom Land and W.terr
DR.. Day, In his report on the asher;e. ,r r,d,.
gives an Interesting notice Of the extent 70 wh,c
croeodiies will destroy hsh. There arc two dis.
efnct genera Of crocodiles in India. The first Of
tnese Is tho true nsh-eating crocodile, (GavisIss
Gsagefieu:, Gamolin,) which attsins upwarda Of
twenty feet in length, and Is found In the Indus
the Gangcs and other large rivers. This spccies
has long and slender snout. II is usually timi,i
Of man, excepting when the locality where TIA
eggs are deposited in the sand is invaded. II
aoss not appear to feed on carrioh, but FISH, turtle
anu tottoises form its diet. In 1858 1t deemed
one oi mo sights at Cuttack to wsteh thss, enor-
nous Reptiles feeding below the irrigation weir,
breeding the osss: Of tho
soen rising to the surface Of the water with asi,
srossTisc IN their jaws; TIE hnny prey was ung
head foremost fell into the captors ,r
small Mo1ths. They are very prolific. A single
gun has been known to destroy SIXTY out Of ono
mon, when asked whether they ever XIII tho croc-
odiles, a. once protested against such a course
Their argument was sara We not both Of tho
ash-destroying race, and how could We be 80 cruel
As 10 the destruction committed by these erel-
lures, they merely remarked that they woah
undoubtedly they spoke TIE truth. However, /. 10
not to be expected that fishermen should bestow
their time n destroying yscnS crocodiies and
animals. Neither viii the Ss.ivs sporss%s
waste their ammunition on crocudfes, which ara
Of no use to them when killed. The hseans proper
10 reduce theif numbers are to Offer rewards for
ne destraction Of their eggs. The ooasaon croc-
odiie leroeodtus Isisfris) also abounds In India,
ana though usually termed maR-eatefy. Trey
sist IN depopulstng the waters Of fish; arr il il
only when tho fnny tribes or carrion are ssnres
that they Will attack the larger mammals, insiad-
Ing man; but having once tasted blood thcYaP-
peaT eager to do % again. In some of tho irriss>
ton canals ono Or more Of these creatures shy
usuSily b sesn bo3ow the locks, where there aro
pools stocked with fish, and when the latter fails
they VIII turn thsir etteation to the cattle.
DF. Day, in 1863, noticed four below . large weir
% CWtaek; six weeks steward they had increased
20 nine. BESIDES many little ones; and he caicu-
lated that the fish tbsy we're then consuming day
Dy day Hoold be worth more than twenty-five
rupees. His sesgesticu to give five rupees apiece
Is reward for the destruction Of these animals
vas disregarded; and s1pposing these nine croeo-
lilies hzd not increased, and that the young onos
never lived to grow up, they would still have
! half years to tho middle Of 1877, all of which
night have been avoided By the outlay Of IS ru-
PEGS ut the time referred to. But the rayages oC
:rocodiles are not confined only to the fish. Com
;attle, or else feed on human beings who may ap-
proach uncouyes0usly near the vater. Thus there
s Q hole on the river Nuns to which crsckodiics
n the dry season Will resort OF course the fish
IN such pools soon exhausted, and in 1868 these
Baropa, where two women and enc horse were de-
Toured by crock0diles IN single mouth. Their
'ne redeeming quality Is that they ore the natural
'cavengers Of the rivers. This, however, is only
VI England are deteIiorattnS these large fish-eat-
ng reptiles ought to be enerxeticaily reduced, as
hey are no longer required in s1ch numbers
,efore, even II we cancede fill force to the argu
nents of these who are for maintaining the bal
Iuce Of nature on every side