Naumann's Elephant vs. Nile Crocodile (float of 5)
Jan 20, 2020 7:08:06 GMT 5
Infinity Blade likes this
Post by Ceratodromeus on Jan 20, 2020 7:08:06 GMT 5
I guess people still think "smart for a reptile" isn't that smart, for some reason.
Just this published in Animal Behavior and Cognition
Another category of object play is interacting with various floating objects, often provisioned toys
or commercial enrichment items. Burghardt (2005, p. 283) quotes Andrew Odum at the Toledo Zoo, who
observed a male Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) “attacking and pushing around a large ball and
approaching it while blowing bubbles used in courtship.” There is no reason to think that the male was
actually trying to court the ball, since attack behavior was also involved. A video of a large male estuarine
crocodile playing with a ball, filmed by John Brueggen at Saint Augustine Crocodile Farm Zoo, can be
seen at youtu.be/DuwUtKhQCf0. The video might look like feeding response, but the crocodile has
been playing with that particular ball for years (J. Brueggen, personal communication, 2015). Adult
crocodilians of many species can often be seen pushing twigs, grass and other floating vegetation while
swimming (personal observations). In many cases this behavior appears to be accidental, but on two
occasions I have seen crocodilians doing this in a manner strongly suggesting play. In both cases, the
objects were pink Bougainvillea flowers that were floating in the pools where the animals were kept
captive. Adult male Cuban crocodile in Zoo Miami (Florida, USA) manipulated such flowers repeatedly
over seven days of observation, picking them up, pushing around, and carrying in the teeth or on the tip of
the snout (Figure 2A). An adult West African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus cf. tetraspis) in Madras
Crocodile Bank (Tamil Nadu, India) behaved in exactly the same way (Figure 2B). In both cases, there
was a variety of other small objects floating in the pools (small green and yellow dry leaves and white
flower petals in Zoo Miami; yellow dry leaves and white egret feathers of varying size in Madras
Crocodile Bank), but these objects were completely ignored. 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 (J. Harding, personal communication, 2014).
or commercial enrichment items. Burghardt (2005, p. 283) quotes Andrew Odum at the Toledo Zoo, who
observed a male Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) “attacking and pushing around a large ball and
approaching it while blowing bubbles used in courtship.” There is no reason to think that the male was
actually trying to court the ball, since attack behavior was also involved. A video of a large male estuarine
crocodile playing with a ball, filmed by John Brueggen at Saint Augustine Crocodile Farm Zoo, can be
seen at youtu.be/DuwUtKhQCf0. The video might look like feeding response, but the crocodile has
been playing with that particular ball for years (J. Brueggen, personal communication, 2015). Adult
crocodilians of many species can often be seen pushing twigs, grass and other floating vegetation while
swimming (personal observations). In many cases this behavior appears to be accidental, but on two
occasions I have seen crocodilians doing this in a manner strongly suggesting play. In both cases, the
objects were pink Bougainvillea flowers that were floating in the pools where the animals were kept
captive. Adult male Cuban crocodile in Zoo Miami (Florida, USA) manipulated such flowers repeatedly
over seven days of observation, picking them up, pushing around, and carrying in the teeth or on the tip of
the snout (Figure 2A). An adult West African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemus cf. tetraspis) in Madras
Crocodile Bank (Tamil Nadu, India) behaved in exactly the same way (Figure 2B). In both cases, there
was a variety of other small objects floating in the pools (small green and yellow dry leaves and white
flower petals in Zoo Miami; yellow dry leaves and white egret feathers of varying size in Madras
Crocodile Bank), but these objects were completely ignored. 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 (J. Harding, personal communication, 2014).
link
