Part VII · Caring and Protecting
077 Strong and Gentle
Hey Crocodile, you can break a bone with those jaws, and you carry your newly hatched to the water in them.
Do we carry the weak that gently?
Can you be strong and gentle at the same time?
On the bank of an Indian river, a large mugger crocodile lies beside a nest of sand. Squeaking sounds come from underneath.
She digs. Tiny crocodiles wriggle out. She lowers her great jaws, and gently scoops them in.
What really happens
A crocodile's bite is one of the strongest in the animal world.
Yet many crocodile mothers, including the Indian mugger, dig their hatchlings out of the nest and carry them in their jaws down to the water, without hurting them.
How we know: Parental care in crocodiles is documented by herpetologists, including the Madras Crocodile Bank.
The turn
We think strength and gentleness are opposites.
The crocodile shows they are the same power, used with care.
Three takeaways
- Real strength can be gentle.
- Power must know when to hold back.
- The weak should feel safest near the strong.
Jaws that break bone. Jaws that carry babies.
O, it is excellent / To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous / To use it like a giant.