New York, February 11: You may find crocodiles too intimidating to make your new playmate, but just like us they too think surfing waves, playing ball and going on piggyback rides are fun, a study has found. Crocodilians engage in all three main types of play distinguished by behaviour specialists: locomotor play, play with objects and social play, said Vladimir Dinets, psychology professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dinets, who has studied crocodiles for a decade, conducted an informal survey of crocodilian-themed groups on social media and various conferences. Dinets observed a juvenile alligator playing with a river otter.
In rare cases, individual crocodilians have been known to bond so strongly with people that they become playmates for years, the study pointed out.
For example, a man who rescued a crocodile that had been shot in the head became close friends with the animal. They happily played every day until the crocodile’s death 20 years later. (IANS)