Researchers have documented mugger crocodiles and American alligators positioning sticks and twigs on or around their snouts during birds’ nesting season — apparently using the sought-after nesting ma
Researchers are debating whether crocodiles and alligators use sticks as tools to lure birds during nesting season. While some studies suggest this is a sophisticated predatory behavior, others remain skeptical of the interpretation.
Why it matters
Understanding animal cognition challenges historical perceptions of reptiles as unintelligent and provides insight into evolutionary predatory strategies.
Crocodiles may be smarter than we thought—or we may be reading too much into their stick-gathering habits near nesting birds.
A crocodile lies still in shallow water near a colony of nesting birds, most of its body underwater, so all a passing egret sees is what looks like a floating log with a few sticks on top. The bird, hunting for twigs to build its nest, drops in to grab one. The log lunges.
That image sits at the center of one of the more surprising claims in animal behavior from the last decade or so. The observation is real, but the interpretation is not as settled as the headlines made it sound.
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