The Crocodile by Mark Angelo S. dela Peña

This poem was written by Jack Prelutsky. The discussion that follows was written by Mark Angelo S. dela Peña.

Beware the crafty crocodile
who beckons you with clever smile
to join him in the river Nile
and swim with him a little while.

His smile is not a friendly smile.
It springs from his dishonest guile
and treacherous reptilian style.
Beware the crafty crocodile.

Are crocodiles more dangerous to people or are people more dangerous to crocodiles? How do people endanger crocodiles?

There is only an average of 100 deaths per year caused by crocodiles and alligators. There are only 200000 to 300000 crocodiles in the world while there are 7000000000 people worldwide. This means that only 0.00000014% of our population dies because of crocodiles while we, 7000000000 people, devastate and deteriorate their habitat. Crocodiles are not the only ones affected but also other forms of water life.

Crocodiles use melee defense mechanisms – their teeth, their tails and their claws. However, we human beings use swords, knives, guns, rifles, grenades, dynamites and nuclear weapons to kill each other and other species.

Crocodiles have trodden the earth for more than two-hundred and fifty million years already yet our two-hundred-thousand years of existence and fifty-thousand years of behavioral modernity have caused a lot of damage to the environment in which the crocodiles have lived for two hundred fifty thousand decades. The crocodiles did not do any damage to the ecosystem.

Crocodiles are driven by the eat-fight-flight instinct which guides them every day. On the other hand, humans are driven by hatred, greed, lust, pride, envy and more so many to enumerate.

People more dangerous – to crocodiles and to people.