Crocodiles are ‘attracted’ to the terrified screams of infants

Toddlers should never scream around crocodiles as the results could be quite Lacoste-ly.

New research has found that the amphibious predator — particularly the Nile crocodile — are “attracted” to the shrieking cries of terrified infants in ways unbeknownst to other wildlife, according to The Royal Society.

“The intensity of crocodile response depends critically on a set of specific acoustic features (mainly deterministic chaos, harmonicity and spectral prominences),” the data noted, adding that fellow high-pitched chants from bonobos and chimpanzees also make the list. 

“Our results suggest that crocodiles are sensitive to the degree of distress encoded in the vocalizations of phylogenetically very distant vertebrates,” researchers added.

In other words, crocodiles can sense the fear in an array of prey, from humans to primates, of any age. Researchers say these predatory reptiles can detect dread better than people as well.

“Interestingly, the acoustic features driving crocodile reaction are likely to be more reliable markers of distress than those used by humans,” they wrote.

“These results highlight that the acoustic features encoding information in vertebrate sound signals are not necessarily identical across species.”

This furthers on 2008 research which found that crocodiles — often distinguishable from alligators for having a more grey-green exterior and preferring salt water to fresh water — are extraordinarily prone to sensing distress in their prey.