Crocodiles just wanna have fun, UT professor shows



A UT psychology professor

 vladimir dinets


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A UT psychology professor is building on work of a colleague who redefined how humans identify "play" behaviors.

And he's found that crocodiles like surfing waves, playing ball, and going on piggyback rides .

Vladimir Dinets is a research assistant professor in psychology at the University of Tennessee. He's studied crocodiles for a decade. And from this study, he found three different ways crocodilians play.

It turns out they play with balls, surf ocean waves and ride piggyback in the water -- and they've also been known to play with other animals, like river otters.

The work is the first to scientifically study play in crocodiles. It is published in the journal Animal Behavior and Cognition.

Previous research by Dinets discovered that crocodiles are able to climb trees, work as a team, and use lures such as sticks to hunt prey. More of his crocodile research can be found in his book Dragon Songs.

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