A cunning new crocodile “tactic” said to lure human prey into the water has been debunked by researchers after a video of a reptile’s odd behaviour went viral.
The saltwater croc, reportedly filmed in the Barito River in Borneo, can be seen rolling onto its back in the water with its hands flailing above the surface. Viral videos on social media say the crocodiles in the region are learning to “pretend to drown” in order to lure bystanders into the water.
But Australian crocodile experts are not convinced — saying the theory is baseless.
‘No way’ for crocs to learn how to mimic humans
Brandon Sideleau, a researcher of human and crocodile conflict at Charles Darwin University, told Yahoo News he’s seen “abnormal” behaviour before, but feels there is a likely explanation behind the crocodile’s manoeuvre.
“I think it’s probably got some prey items in its mouth because I’ve seen it on some of the rivers here where saltwater crocodiles will kind of spin around underwater, you’ll see their hands up in the air when they’ve got food in their jaws… That would be my guess. It could even be neurological but my guess would be prey,” he said.
“In Indonesia roughly 100 people are killed by saltwater crocodiles annually, despite having relatively few crocodiles compared to Australia. Crocodiles are also much more intelligent than they are often given credit for… but they certainly would not be mimicking a person drowning to attract prey.
The crocodile’s flailing arms have gone viral online, but experts believe there’s a much less sinister reason behind the behaviour. Source: Instagram
“It definitely wouldn’t be trying to lure people in because there’d be no way for it to actually learn that.”
Leading zoologist and crocodile researcher Professor Graham Webb agreed the story was “complete creative journalism with no factual basis”, and suggested the crocodile may have had its tail caught and was “being prevented from swimming normally”.
High amount of crocodile attacks due to water dependency
Australia is home to around 200,000 crocodiles – almost half of the entire global population of crocs – but the number of deaths is “very few”, according to Brandon. The number of deaths per capita skyrockets across third-world countries due to a dependency on water.
“They don’t have plumbing and when they fish they’re usually in the water fishing, they’re not using the boats like we use here,” he said. “When people get attacked in Australia it’s always avoidable. Where as in Indonesia, people in some areas really depend on the water.”
He said that dependency is even more evident in Papua New Guinea, where he has been working recently.
“In some areas people have to do everything in the water – they have to bathe, they have to collect water for cooking, they have to wash their clothes, they have to fish. So the attack per capita is just very, very high for that reason.”
Misinformation online can be dangerous
The video of the crocodile has spread quickly on social media, gaining over 50 million views on one page alone.
For Brandon, the misinformation could be dangerous if it was to impact how crocodile populations are managed.
“Other misinformation can be much more damaging if people are suggesting management strategies that are potentially damaging to the crocodile population or dangerous to the human population,” he said.
Love Australia’s weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week’s best stories.