Crocodiles are known for their menacing ways and are more or less a symbol of shy animals refraining from too much exposure; however, a new study has claimed that these menacing crocodiles are fun loving animals too and that they take pleasure in activities like piggyback rides, surfing waves and playing ball.
Researchers at University of Tennessee, Knoxville have revealed a softer side of these intimidating creatures, one that includes romping around with river otters and people. The findings could shed light on how intelligence has evolved.
"Many aspects of crocodilian behavior remain poorly known due to their rare occurrence and to the difficulty of observing predominantly nocturnal predators", said Dr Vladimir Dinets, a researcher at the University.
The research shows that crocodilians engage in all three main types of play distinguished by behavior specialists: locomotor play, play with objects and social play. Play with objects was reported most often. Crocodilians have been spotted playing with wooden balls, noisy ceramic bits, streams of water, their prey and debris floating in the water.
Cases of locomotor play include young alligators repeatedly sliding down slopes, crocodiles surfing ocean waves and caimans riding currents of water in their pools. Observed cases of social play include baby alligators riding on their older friends' backs, baby caimans playfully "courting" each other and a male crocodile giving his lifetime mate rides on his back.
Crocodiles have also been seen playing with other animals. Dinets observed a juvenile alligator playing with a river otter. In rare cases, individual crocodilians have been known to bond so strongly with people that they become playmates for years.
Dr Dinets added: 'Anecdotal observations suggest that crocodilians are generally attracted to small pink objects, and prefer them over similar objects of other colors for biting and manipulating.'
This knowledge might help determine how intelligence evolves and what was needed for its development.
The study is published in the journal Animal Behavior and Cognition.
via Science - Google News http://ift.tt/1AiiznT
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