Our plan was to launch kayaks into Florida Bay, then paddle west along the coastal Everglades, camping on beaches accessible only by water. My friend Steve and I were at the southern end of the park. I was in the right spot in few other places are the carnivores as big and plentiful as in Everglades National Park. I wondered: How fast could this reptile clamber up the 30 feet of bank separating us? For just a moment, I wanted to see the world from the perspective of the prey. Crocodiles are opportunists, lying still most of the day until something worth snapping at comes close enough. I knelt down on the bank of the canal for a better look. It was at least 10 feet long and had a pale-green crenellated hide, with bumps and ridges. T he crocodile lay in the mud, flat-bellied and splay-legged, its black unblinking eyes taking me in.
