Legend has it that there is no lie, and the ancient gods are reborn and return to our world! Fall on your knees before His greatness and strength and worship Him! Well, or at least leave it alone, the desert crocodile has gotten it all its life.
Even the priests of ancient Egypt said that there were not only Nile crocodiles living in Egypt. In addition, they saw mythical reptiles as calm and balanced animals that could protect their territory from attack and protect the world from evil spirits.
Eventually, they came up with Thebek, a crocodile-headed god who embodied these qualities and was responsible for many aspects of Egyptian life. On top of that, according to the crocodile gods, they were crazy in Fayoum, and the city was so closely associated with reptiles that Greek writers called it crocodile city.
But modern people look like this: "For thousands of years, several ancient civilizations have been writing about an unknown crocodile?" This could just be a myth!. As a result, for centuries, science has ignored the presence of West African crocodiles, also known as desert crocodiles.
It wasn't until the 19th century that people began to pay attention to the knowledge of their predecessors. French zoologist Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (well, you broke your tongue) examined the skulls of mummified reptiles and found many differences from typical Nile heads, and came up with a Latin name for the new species. Unfortunately, no one believed him. The French theory was revived in 2011, when studies showed that all mummies belong to species we missed.
But the crocodiles themselves – in Egypt you will no longer see them, but in West African countries they still live today and even have partial intersections with their larger relatives. Although nature is relatively good, they can still pose a danger to humans as they are predatory lizards up to 4 meters long!
In addition, the effect of surprise is on their side: the last thing you want to encounter in the desert is crocodiles. After all, without water and food, how do reptiles survive? In fact, these resources are so abundant that you just need to learn how to use them wisely.
After hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, greenskins have rebuilt their metabolism, so in the event of a drought, they hide in caves or caves and hibernate for months. When it rains in a sandy ocean, crocodiles feel like they 'open the water' and climb into huge puddles and makeshift rivers. Some desert dwellers also come to them - the ideal snack for rain.
Locals have noticed the connection between the lake and the desert crocodile, and they respect the reptiles and do everything they can to protect them. The belief passed down from generation to generation is that without crocodiles, rivers and other water sources would dry up.
Unfortunately, legends don't help much – once we discover a new species, we risk losing it. Scientists have found that desert crocodiles are extinct in more than 85 percent of their original habitat, and their numbers continue to decline. The reason is human hunters and competition with the Nile Brothers.
The saddest thing is that there is no one to guard the crocodile. Bureaucrats are too clumsy to recognize west African crocodiles as an endangered species. The ancient gods could only hope for the benevolence of the people and shed crocodile tears in reverence and worship.