swamp monsters

Modesty considered Lyra's question. "Her nest would likely be underground, somewhere safe from others of her own kind. If we were to remove her from the estuary, who would eat the eggs and baby crocodiles? When they are fully grown, who poses the bigger threat? There are birds that live here that will depend on her babies hatching to feed them before they migrate in the fall. Even if they aren't good for us, everything has its place." She gestured with her head that they should keep moving forward.

"Not all threats need to be eliminated, sometimes we just have to live around each other for the greater good. Can you see any other animals around here that are important to the survival or control of another?" Turtles sunned themselves on branches that poked out of the water, storks and ducks and other avians a plenty spotted the landscape around them. The distant rumble of a crocodile calling for a mate, that strange beak clacking persisted, even cobwebs strung between the trees spoke of the richness of this little wet pocket they had claimed for themselves.

"speech"