Humans have a tendency to rate animal intelligence relative to our own when in fact, mammals in general — and humans in particular — are a relatively young order, compared to reptile and marine life. Take for instance, the crocodile. The oldest croc fossil ever recorded belongs to a sea creature called Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, a cross between a dolphin and a crocodile, that prowled the oceans about 163 million years ago. (The first humans walked the Earth 66 million years ago, about 100 million years later.)
For better or worse, marine T-Rex didn’t survive, but the crocodile did, and remains the apex predator in nearly every landscape it inhabits. There are now 24 species of crocs around the world, three of which are found in India. These are the saltwater crocodile, which lives along the eastern coast, the mugger that prefers fresh and brackish water lakes and rivers, and the gharial, which inhabits small pockets in central India and the Terai.
All three are characterised by jagged teeth, an unblinking gaze, and armoured hide that make them seem so cold and threatening. The gharial also has a bulbous mass, or “ghara” at the tip of its snout, which makes it easily identifiable. Truth is, they can all be fearsome, but there is more to crocs than meets the eye.
Let’s consider their power of sight. Both muggers and saltwater crocs have retinal adaptations that allow them to scan flat horizons without moving their heads: Perfect for ambush hunts when they remain motionless at the water’s surface, watching for prey. Underwater, their sight is hampered, but they can still detect light and shadow, even in extremely low light situations. Yet another skill of this nocturnal predator.
In the day, muggers have been known to employ other ingenious methods, like attracting birds with twigs, branches, and other nesting material. The hunters stay half submerged in the water, still as a log, with a few sticks propped on their snout. When a bird approaches close enough, they open their immense jaws, and consume their meal. Most significantly, crocs employ this strategy only during nesting time, which implies that they understand seasons, and have the ability to make use of the tools around them.
Historically, crocodiles are so feared, they were used for biological warfare many centuries ago. Legend has it, that in 1510, Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur (now Goa) released 300 freshwater crocodiles into the mangroves bordering his kingdom, as a deterrent to the approaching Portuguese. “The colonisers had never seen a croc before,” explains herpetologist Nirmal Kulkarni, “They thought the animals were dragons, so they promptly turned the ships around.”
Miraculously, the animals survived the change from fresh to brackish water, and live to this day, in the mangroves of Goa. Look carefully, Kulkarni says, and you might catch some illustrations of half-croc-half-fish figurines in 16th-century maps of the region, warning sea farers of the danger these waters hold. (The Portuguese did eventually colonise the area — but only months later.)
Far from fighting battles, is the story of the gharial. Like muggers and saltwater crocodiles, gharials lay and hatch their eggs on sandy river banks. When the babies hatch — many hundreds in number — the young gather in one place, where they are cared for together by a group of gharial mothers, quite like in a crèche. The mamas take turns protecting and watching over the babies until they have learned the ways of the crocodilian world. Next time you think of a croc, think about their caring nature, or complex power of sight, not just their deadly choppers.
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