Tamara Kindley, age 11, of Asheville, North Carolina, for her question:

Is it true that the crocodile sheds tears?

The experts used to tell us that only humans shed tears of grief and misery. Now we are learning more about the private worlds of the animals    and many old ideas have to be changed. So far as we know, the crocodile who lives in fresh water cannot shed a real or a phony tear. But we know for sure that the crocodiles who live in salt water streams and marshes do indeed shed salt water tears.

So do the seagoing snakes and lizards and turtles, and the sea gull sheds salty tears from the nostrils in his beak. These creatures shed tears when they happen to swallow too much salty water. The seagoing seals and otters also weep salt tears when they are scared or upset. And zoo keepers insist that elephants also cry. When captured and bound, they have been known to weep salt tears as they lie in misery on the ground. We know now that we are not the only weepers in the world.