Nile Crocodile is Alarmingly Attuned to the Cries of Human Infants

Nile crocodile is uniquely sensitive to the wails of distressed primate babies, according to a new study—and the more anxious the cry, the more interested the crocs become.

Indeed, according to the research, published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the reptiles are even better at identifying the emotional cues hidden in the wails of babies than we are—perhaps because they’ve evolved to home in on helpless prey.