Crocodiles ‘escort’ dog to safety in India, stunning scientists
- Researchers studying the behaviour of mugger crocodiles in India’s Maharashtra state published images of the event in the Journal of Threatened Taxa
- While it may be surprising that the reptiles didn’t jump at the opportunity for an easy meal, biologists say there are a number of reasons why
Researchers published images of the event in the August edition of the Journal of Threatened Taxa. They were studying the behaviour of mugger crocodiles in the Savitri River in India’s Maharashtra state.
“These crocodiles were actually touching the dog with their snout”, the researchers reported in the study, writing that the crocodiles “seemingly nudged and escorted [the dog] to safety”.
The stray dog eventually escaped the pack of dogs who were chasing it.
While it may be surprising that the reptiles didn’t jump at the opportunity for a seemingly easy meal, Chris Murray, a biologist with Southeastern Louisiana University, said there were many reasons the crocodiles may have let the dog pass.
They may have been full or felt too exposed to ambush the prey. Or they might have had negative experiences trying to eat dogs in the past, he said.
“You see these cost-benefit analyses occur in nature all the time when it comes to the ecology of feeding,” Murray said.