Croc Play Behavior at the zoo?

[MM1]

Couldn't get this to embed properly but here's the link to a crocodile enjoying a waterslide of sorts in its environment at a zoo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=6ItuGTWTTuM

[Cricket1234]

Lol. Evidence that reptiles have more intelligence than we think:blink:The crocadilian was able to go around it but chose to ride the slide. It actually looks fun, wonder if the crocs would mind if I joined them;). I will make sure to do it around feeding time to, what a smart idea!

[MM1]

Yeah it looked like this one had done this before. It was done with purpose and there was even a little steering around those rocks near the bottom. I wonder if that bigger one up at the top ever tried it but didn't fit.

[eminart]

As usual, I'm going to have to be "that guy". I don't see anything about that behavior that indicates "play". He's simply following the "river" from one pool to the other. Using the current is natural behavior, and in this case, there really was no other option.

[Aaron_S]

As usual, I'm going to have to be "that guy". I don't see anything about that behavior that indicates "play". He's simply following the "river" from one pool to the other. Using the current is natural behavior, and in this case, there really was no other option.

I agree. I see an animal using the water/current to get to where it wants to be. If there was video of the croc getting out, climbing back up and going down again I'd consider "play".

[Andy_G]

3 of those guys now...still a cool video though!

[eminart]

If there was video of the croc getting out, climbing back up and going down again I'd consider "play".

He'd still have to yell, "Wheeeeeeeee!" while going down before I'd believe it. ;)

[jossh27]

I wad definitely hoping the croc was going to climb up the side and go back down... Too bad. - just a animal making his way to the other side of the pond using the least amount of energy as possible

[MM1]

Yes, to really get a better idea of motivation you'd need to have way more than a 17 second video. Croc would have to repeatedly swim around/climb back up and slide down. There's a zoologist named Vladimir Dinets who has written about crocodilian behavior (captive and wild), including deliberate fruit eating, alleged examples of play behavior, and some of their less obvious social interactions. I suspect context plays a big role in what kinds of behaviors one might observe (captivity vs wild, higher vs lower stress environments, training/conditioning by humans, etc.). Awhile back I stumbled on a video of an alligator tossing and rolling and letting a jet of water from a pipe in its enclosure hit various parts of its body for some time. While perhaps not play in the strictest sense, the animal appeared to find the whole thing pleasurable and had the choice to simply leave the area.

[akane]

Even simple applesnails will repeatedly go for an air wand or stone to ride the bubbles up, float around for awhile, sink, and do it again. I'm not sure I'd call it a sign of intelligence. All sorts of animals pick up behaviors in captivity that might have had a purpose in the wild with more natural materials. Sometimes it becomes a repetitive habit from lack of other stimulation. I had to relocate a shelf in my chinchilla cage because my male was using it to help him do back flips over the house below it to the point he broke all the fur off his back. He spent 2 months constantly working on figuring out that behavior too.