The morning call., 1892-01-07
ALLlGATORS.
Some Truths About the Biggest ReptneI
That Grow In This Country.

Some Truths About the Biggest Reptiles
That Grow In This Country.
Did you ever see an alligator catch
flies ?" asked a naturalist of a Washington
Star writer. II have watched the perform
ance by the hour. The saurian lies on a
muddy bank in the sun, with his mouth wide
open. Winged insects. attracted by the sa-
Iva Of the beast, gather in swarms upon its
tongue, Just as though 1t was a sheet Of fly
paper When sufficient number has col
lected it closes its jaws suddenly, and with
a gulp the little tOrments have disappeared,
Rffording at once revenge and an agreeable
flavor. You have often heard | dare say,
Of the little bird that enters the mouth Of
the crocodile without fear in order to pluck
therefrOm certain parasites which the rep
tiles could not otherwise get rid Of. That is
a IA t.. although it failed to be recognized
as such by science for long time.
"On many occas Ons have had Oppor-
tunilies OF observing aligat0Ts in pursuit
of prey They will eat meat in any shape,
from water fowl to fishes. Sometimes they
moor themselves by their tails 10 the shore
with mouths agaDP, and silently absorb
shoals Of muliet anC other comparatively
small fry which pass along through the
shadows. But favOrite way Of theirs is
TO lie upon the surface of the water and
quietly gObble any ducks or other animals
That come within reach. Their heads are
so constructed that when they are thus
floating only their eyes and the tip end of
the nose are above the surface. Thus they
are able TO breathe and to see at the same
time. without exposing themselves TO any
extent A snap, and all is over with the
victim.
Perhaps l have seemed to confuse the
alligator and the crocodile In fact there
are two kinds Of crocodiles in the United
fafa ha trg1a 10 tbn oil
The former is very rare, indeed, and II can
only be distinguished from the latter by a
difference in the shape Of the head.
"Aligat0rs have been found in rivers and
estuaTies as far north as NORTH Carolina.
though not of recent years. For a long
time past hunters have sought them so per-
SistentlY and slain them so reCklessly that
they are rapidly becoming extinct. A pres
ent their numbers In Florida and on the
Gulf Coast are few. In the unexplored ever
gades and other great swamps of those
regions they still survive in numbers await
Ing the crack of the spOrtsman's rifle to an
nounce their demise, pTeliminarily to send
ing their hides and teeth to northern mar
ketS.
In times past and to this day, according
| to current tradition, alligators have been
credited with being very ferOcious; but the
fact seems 10 be that they are sluggish and
timid. In South America the natives often
wade into the water where they are and pull
them cut by the tails. So it is said, at all
events. When winter approaches, they en-
bed themselves in the mud Of the shadows
where they hibernate and lie dormant until
spring. They breed IN April and May, when
the female seeks a sheltered spot on a bank
and constructs small mound Of mud and
other material, in which she deposits her
eggs, to the number of 1C0 or 200. First she
lays upon the ground stratum of mud and
grass on which she deposits layer of eggs
on this she places another stratum OF grass
and mud, and then more eggs, and so on.
The eggs are Matched by the sun, assisted