Crocodiles Are Attracted to the Sound of Human Babies Crying, According to a New Study

Chris Malone Méndez
·2 min read
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It's common knowledge to keep a fair distance from crocodiles if you ever spot one of these massive reptiles on water or land—where they can scurry up to 20 mph. That may be especially true if you have a baby with you, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Saint-Etienne and the University of Lyon published new findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal that expounds on the extra danger of having a baby around in the presence of a croc—particularly a crying baby.

The scientists went to the CrocoParc in Agadir, Morocco, testing out various sounds of human babies crying at different levels of distress. A majority of the area's 300 crocodiles responded to the sounds immediately. The more distressed the human cries, the more more frantic and urgent the reptile response became.

Scientists also tested out cries from baby bonobos and chimpanzees and discovered that crocodiles responded with a similar reaction.

"We found through playback experiments that Nile crocodiles are attracted to infant hominid cries—bonobo, chimpanzee, and human—and that the intensity of crocodile response depends critically on a set of specific acoustic features," the authors wrote, according to Newsweek. "Our results suggest that crocodiles are sensitive to the degree of distress encoded in the vocalizations of phylogenetically very distant vertebrates."

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The research also noted that a crocodile's instant reactions might not have been provoked solely from hunger or sensing prey in danger. It's possible that some of the female crocs' innate maternal instincts kicked in at times, too. "It cannot be entirely ruled out that some individuals, particularly females, responded in a parental care context,” the scientists said, as reported by Smithsonian. 

Whatever the case, it's best not to assume that a reactive croc has your fussy baby's well-being in mind.