Live Wilderness Adventure

Chapter 828 The Crocodile in the Blackwater River

Too dangerous!

Seeing with their own eyes several crocodiles dismembering a small camel in a short period of time, everyone was unavoidably terrified. Seeing that Bi Fang was less than three meters away from the bank of the Heishui River, they hurriedly persuaded them to stay away.

If a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, the distance of three meters is like walking on a knife, and the cold light is piercing.

Don't worry, it's not that dangerous.

Bi Fang smiled, and he pointed to the Nile crocodile still tearing pieces of flesh from the little camel in the distance. Although this scene was extremely bloody and cruel, everyone could even see the twitching legs of the camel on the surface of the black water river, but in the Surrounding this tragedy, there are still several adult camels standing still.

Seeing this scene, not only did they not take it seriously, but they still stood in the river, drinking water with their heads down, as if the dead beside them were not their kind at all.

【Here, what's the situation? ? 】

【So indifferent? 】

[The crocodile doesn't bite the big camel so much]

Did you see? Even if these big camels are standing in the water, the Nile crocodiles will not attack them, because they know in their hearts that these big guys are not something they can provoke. The relationship between the crocodiles and camels here , like a crocodile versus a hippopotamus.

When Bi Fang compared crocodiles and hippos, the audience in front of the screen suddenly realized.

I have never eaten pork and I have seen pigs running. These two species are frequent visitors to the animal world.

Although the hippopotamus always stays in the water, it can swim and even dive. It is usually quiet. Once it loses its temper, it often fights, and each uses its sharp teeth to stab each other's thick skin. Sometimes in the river When it gets angry, it dares to overturn the boat and bite the boat in two.

The crocodile's skin is rough and thick, but it's not as good as a small boat. An adult hippo can bite off a big crocodile in one bite, but the crocodile's teeth can't deal with hippos; hippos are faster in the water and on the shore than crocodiles. ; Strength and size are much better than crocodiles.

So in the waters where hippos are, crocodiles will avoid them far away, but it is a bit inaccurate to say that crocodiles do not attack hippos, because if the target is a small hippo, then it is not polite.

[The camel here is the hippopotamus! 】

That's right, the adult camels in the canyon are equivalent to the hippopotamus on the African savannah. Although they don't have the terrible bite force of the hippopotamus, their attack power is also not to be underestimated. If they go down with one hoof, it is very likely that they will directly crush the crocodile's head. .”

Besides, do you feel it? The crocodiles here are generally smaller.

A crocodile was basking in the sun on the shore, and its mouth grew. Bi Fang turned over and got off the camel, and walked in some, which made the audience tremble. But comparing the two, it seemed that the crocodile was only two meters or less?

Compared with the Alpha on the side, it is ridiculously small and looks vulnerable.

Such a big crocodile seems to be able to eat only small camels.

Although I always call them Nile crocodiles, in fact, their name should be West African Nile crocodiles, or desert crocodiles, West African crocodiles.

[I understand, Desert Butcher Renekton (laughs)]

West African crocodile, also known as West African crocodile, desert crocodile, was once considered to be a subspecies of Nile crocodile. However, a 2011 study showed that DNA molecular evidence tests showed that there was a difference between the skulls of Nile crocodile and West African crocodile. difference, the West African crocodile is a separate species.

It's just that, as I said before, the naming of many species has long been used for a long time. Even if the nature is recognized and the scientific name is changed, the name will usually not be changed. Just like this, it has been called wrongly.

After comparing the size of the West African crocodile, Bi Fang got on Alpha again and continued to walk along the Blackwater River.

Since there are two species, the size cannot be generalized.

The Nile crocodile is the largest crocodile and reptile in Africa. Its body length is 2-6 meters. The average body length of the largest subspecies is 3.7 meters. There is also a famous monster here. I don't know if you have any. People have heard of it as 'Gustav'.

【Gustav, sounds familiar】

【I seem to have heard】

【No impression at all】

[fine]

Seeing that everyone is interested, Bi Fang does not mind introducing it.

It is said that the largest crocodile in the world is a Nile crocodile named Gustav, which is more than ten meters long. Nearly 300 people died.

[Fuck, how is it possible! 】

【What are you kidding】

[Is it so outrageous? 】

【real or fake】

【I do not believe】

To be honest, I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes, but this crocodile is indeed famous, and many records are from local officials.

Bi Fang smiled wryly.

The Nile crocodile is the overlord in the water. When it reaches the shallows, it can also snatch the prey from the lion's mouth, the king of the grassland. The Nile crocodile in a group is a proper amphibious overlord.

Generally speaking, most Nile crocodiles are no more than 5 meters long and 600 kilograms in weight throughout their lives, but some selected crocodiles are better than crocodile from the beginning of crocodile eggs.

After the shell is broken, it grows rapidly. If it grows up to an adult, it will be about 6 meters in size. Other crocodiles will bow their heads when they see it, enough to dominate the entire river.

Gustav is the chosen crocodile. It was born in Burundi between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is hidden in Lake Tanganiko, the largest lake in the country. People named it Gustav.

Its name comes from the Swedish emperor who once conquered half of Europe: Gustav II, who is domineering and majestic.

Many local residents claim to have seen this giant beast.

According to people's descriptions, this giant crocodile is particularly large, and it can easily capsize fishermen's boats. Gustav will silently lurk in the water, and when the prey approaches, it will quickly attack.

In 2004, war broke out in Burundi. After the war ended, people suddenly remembered that they hadn't heard about Gustav for a long time.

In 2007, witnesses claimed to see Gustav again, but it had a row of bullet marks on its body, which was probably left by machine gunning during the civil war.

【A bit outrageous.】

【I don't believe it very much】

[I think it may be true, after all, it is natural, no one can say for sure]

[Indeed, nature is so big, there are always some freaks]

[Does Fang Shen believe it? 】

Me? Bi Fang pondered for a moment, then shook his head and gave an ambiguous answer, I don't know whether to believe it or not, maybe it really exists.

The power of nature is infinite, and there are always some elite individuals.

Everyone is obviously human, but some people can punch through sandbags in 100 meters and 10 seconds.

If possible, he really hoped that this crocodile named Gustav existed, and then went to meet it himself.

Compared with the Nile crocodile, the West African crocodile is insignificant. The smallest adult crocodile is only 1 meter long, with an average of 1.5-2 meters. The largest male West African crocodile is 243.5cm long. If the tail is broken, Then the total length is 250cm. The largest female West African crocodile is 209cm long.

I just heard about the legend of Gustav just now, and the audience admired the mighty power of the Nile crocodile, but now when I heard the size of the West African crocodile, I suddenly felt a lot of hips.

West African crocodiles mainly eat small creatures such as fish, birds and frogs, insects, which also explains why West African crocodiles lack the ability to prey on livestock, and how indigenous and crocodile coexist peacefully.

The West African crocodile's lack of ability to hunt large prey in the Sahara is the key to its survival in the desert and the root cause of its small size.

So, the West African crocodile can't do camels at all, and can only eat the small camels that are left alone. As for why the camels around them are so indifferent, it is also a normal state in nature. Except for their parents, generally no camels will talk to them if they have been preyed on. camel to help, maybe its parents weren't around.

I see.

Everyone finally understood.

So we don't have to be afraid of them at all, and the speed of crocodiles is actually not as fast as you think.

Most crocodiles are very ferocious, and they are the most patient hunters. At the moment of predation, they can be shot out of the water like an arrow, which looks very impactful.

But this is only a short-term behavior, and it cannot be maintained for a long time.

There are three running postures of crocodiles, either like a snake, like a horse, or like a rabbit.

Like a snake, it crawls forward. When it is on the swamp and muddy river bank, it drags its belly and pushes forward with its pedals. This is also the most common pose.

The second is the high gait: This gait is effective for clearing rocks and branches and requires the most energy due to the need to lift a large body off the ground.

The third is running: similar to the jump of a rabbit, the crocodile simultaneously kicks the ground with its hind legs and then lands with its front legs, which looks like it is jumping.

The audience imagined a scene of a crocodile and a rabbit jumping in their minds, and they didn't know what to say for a while.

It seems, very happy?

But the latter two are usually only seen in small crocodiles, and big crocodiles are basically a few activists, just like pythons.

The West African crocodile is much smaller than the Nile crocodile, but it is average in the big family of crocodiles. It is more than enough than the top and the bottom is more than enough. It can burst out in a short period of time, that is, the attack, so we left the river bank for three days. Rice is enough.

Bi Fang casually dropped a piece of ostrich meat, and the crocodile beside him didn't move at all. It wasn't until after Bi Fang left that everyone saw the West African crocodile slowly coming forward and swallowing it.

In ancient Egypt, people even considered it a very honorable thing to be eaten by a crocodile. The crocodile god Sobek engraved on the Sonic Temple is considered to be based on the Nile crocodile.

However, mythology will always change with history. Since the 9th century AD, the Nile crocodile has been hunted and killed by humans.

The ancient Egyptians worshiped Sobek and the pharaoh's fertility and protection of the related crocodile god, but later the Egyptians also hunted the crocodile as a source of protection and pharaoh's power.

This may be one of the proofs of social change.

Anyone who has studied archaeology knows that life and death are always worshiped. Before ancient times, the most common sculptures dug up were women with wide bodies and fat bodies.

Because such a body is more fertile, early humans had a high mortality rate, so they naturally worshiped it, but after entering the feudal society, human productivity developed rapidly, armed themselves, the death rate dropped greatly, and the primitive worship of life and evil began to disappear.

The powerful image of the crocodile has naturally changed from a symbol of fertility to a powerful symbol of power.

The West African crocodile is more docile than the Nile crocodile, was chosen by the ancient Egyptians for their spiritual rituals, and included mummification.

Historically, West African crocodiles and Nile crocodiles lived in Egypt in the lower reaches of the Nile River. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus was the first to record and study crocodiles. Priests are selective.

Priests know the difference between the two species, the crocodile is smaller, more docile, easier to catch and tame.

Herodotus also noted that some Egyptians kept crocodiles as pampered pets. At the Arsinoe Temple in Sobek, a crocodile was kept in the temple, where it was fed, adorned with jewels, and worshiped in a pool.

When a crocodile dies, it is embalmed, mummified, placed in a sarcophagus, and buried in a sacred tomb. Many mummified specimens and even crocodile eggs have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.

Recent DNA analyzes have shown that the crocodile mummies in the caves of Thebes, Cave Samoun and those in Upper Egypt belong to this species.

[Another day of increasing knowledge]

【Learning is useless, learning is useless】

Bi Fang rode a camel across most of the Heishui River, and the camels kept flocking, and he saw a large number of fragments of pottery pots on the ground.

[What are these fragments? Garbage?]

【There are so many human traces here】

[There are murals and clay pots again. This place must have been very prosperous before, right? 】

Bi Fang was noncommittal.

Around 1840, religious Berbers and Bedouins had moved south from the north, replacing the original indigenous Tubu people and giving the oasis its present name.

The entry of outsiders made the business flourish again. The first European who discovered here, Rolfs, entered Daqi along the resulting Sahara trade route.

However, the local residents at that time were very hostile to the foreign Europeans. Rolfs' expedition team was besieged by the locals and almost died.

In the end, the expedition team fled all the way north and ran all the way to Benghazi. Of course, Chad couldn't make it, but finding Dutch was enough to make his reputation even better.

【No wonder you have to circumcise and pretend, hahaha】

【Feeling miserable】

【This is too dangerous, primitive man】

[Not much difference. 】

The prosperity of business made this oasis a good place to store water, and the best tools, clay pots, naturally increased.

However, after 2000, all the relatively complete jars were either taken away or smashed to pieces. When Bi Fang visited the place in person, he only saw many scattered fragments, none of which were complete.

【Ah, didn't the local government protect them? They are all antiques】

This is a common misunderstanding. In fact, not all antiques are valuable. Only antiques with cultural and historical value can be sold at a good price. These clay pots are not too old, and their shapes are also average. They are mainly practical.

Historical value, cultural value, and artistic value are all gone. They are no different from waste products. They may be better than waste products, but they are not worth paying a lot of money to protect.