Biologists from the University of Lyon in France, named after Claude Bernard, have learned that Nile crocodiles recognize crying babies and respond to their cries. The results of the study are also presented magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Many animals have developed a particular hypersensitivity when it comes to their crying babies. This call is strikingly different from other voices, particularly human, chimpanzee, and bonobo voices. The cry of the cubs of these species is so universal to other species that even crocodiles react to it. That’s how hunters know where easy prey is, according to the researchers.
The study’s authors used audio recordings of human, chimpanzee and bonobo babies’ cries to express different emotions and stress levels. With every sound, babies call out to their mothers. All the sounds were later played in a crocodile park in Morocco where 300 Nile crocodiles are kept. Predators not only paid attention, but reacted quickly when they heard that babies were in trouble.
“The responses were more of a predatory nature, but we don’t rule out that some females are driven by maternal instinct. The sounds may remind them of their own offspring,” the scientists said.
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