In Madagascar the eggs are laid in August and September and hatch in about twelve weeks; they are laid at night, usually shortly before daybreak. From twenty to thirty eggs are laid in one nest, which is merely a hole dug in the dry sand. As was said in connection with the Florida alligator, the habits of the two animals are quite different in this respect,—the moisture that is so important in the one case is fatal to the embryo in the other. When the eggs are laid the nest is filled in with sand so that there is nothing to indicate its position except that the female crocodile is in the habit of lying on the spot where her eggs lie buried.
Like the alligator the young crocodile makes a squeaking noise shortly before hatching and the mother doubtless opens the nest, at this time, to allow the young to escape. A fence that Voeltzkow built around a nest was repeatedly broken down by the mother in attempting to get back to her eggs.
The character of the crocodile’s egg is discussed, in comparison with that of the Florida alligator, on [page 23].
The Marsh Crocodile or Mugger, C. palustris
Found in India, Ceylon, Burmah, the Malay Peninsula, and many of the islands in that region. It has a rather broad snout, and reaches a length of twelve feet. It is a timid form and is harmless to man. It is frequently venerated by the Hindoos and is kept in a semi-domesticated condition in ponds where it is fed and becomes very tame.
In the dry season when the natural ponds are empty they sometimes migrate overland in search of water, but generally they bury themselves in the mud and lie dormant until the rains begin again.
The Salt-Water Crocodile, C. porosus
This is one of the largest if not the largest of living reptiles ([Fig. 12]). It is said by Ditmars to reach a length of twenty feet and there is a record of one specimen that was thirty-three feet in length. It is said to be easily recognized by the prominent, longitudinal ridge that extends in front of each eye, over the prefrontal bone, and by the absence of the suboccipital scutes.
Fig. 13. Skull of Gavial.