Expression " crocodile tears"is known to everyone and means hypocrisy, insincerity and even cynicism. Indeed, how else can one explain the fact that a crocodile cries after eating another innocent animal? Does he really feel sorry for his food? Research says it's not that simple. And the accusations against crocodiles are simply unfair: tearing from their eyes is completely unrelated to emotions.
You can't look without tears
First, let's figure out how true this phrase is. Tears are shed by many beings: after all, it is convenient way rinse your eyes from dust and debris that may get there. And the crocodile is no exception. Tears also accumulate in the corners of his eyes and then roll down his muzzle. But what does food have to do with it?
Checking whether crocodiles really cry while eating is not easy. Even the most desperate researchers are unlikely to dare to divert this predatory reptile from lunch. In addition, this usually happens in water, and tears can simply not be seen. That's why for a long time the phrase, like the fact itself, was considered simply a legend.
But still, science was able to find out the truth: in 2006, researchers trained seven crocodiles to come to a feeder on land for food and recorded the process. It turned out that five of the seven animals observed actually shed tears while eating.
When I eat I am deaf and dumb
But why do crocodiles cry while eating? So far, scientists do not have an answer to this question. But, as is customary among them, there is a hypothesis. Perhaps the lacrimation of crocodiles may be associated with the wheezing, puffing, hissing and whistling sounds that they make while eating (yes, crocodiles are no different good manners). Researchers speculate that by making all these sounds, the crocodile may be pushing air through the sinuses and stimulating the tear glands, which causes an overproduction of tears.
Another version of the excessive “sentimentality” of crocodiles is associated with sudden head movements that the reptile makes while eating. Of course, these assumptions are not as romantic as the idea that a crocodile might feel sorry for someone. But they restore justice: they are not cynics or hypocrites. They just love to eat delicious food.
If someone pretends to feel sorry for someone whom he himself has offended, then they say about such an offender: “Shedding crocodile tears.” In other words, in this case these are insincere tears accompanying hypocritical regret. It's time to find out why the crocodile is crying, because he is bloodthirsty and far from kind.
Ancient peoples feared crocodiles
Some peoples in ancient times discovered that crocodiles had such a dominant character trait as a tendency to deceive. Several thousand years ago in Egypt, these animals that inhabited the Nile were attributed to divine evil. To win the favor of bloodthirsty and treacherous reptiles, local residents please them all possible ways: they gave food, pronounced ritual and magical speeches at them. But they did not understand why crocodiles cry when they eat.
People's imagination had no limits. For example, from a famous ancient Greek researcher you can find the following amusing description of the behavior of a crocodile. Cunning reptile with a mouth full river water she rushed to the steep path to water it abundantly, and then hid in ambush and waited for the victim. It is not difficult to guess what happened to unsuspecting people or animals who went down the slippery slope of the river to quench their thirst. Despite all the fantastic nature of such facts confirming deceit, they are still not so groundless. Why does a crocodile cry while eating? It is possible that he feels sorry for his food.
Old legend
Various sources retell ancient legend about the tearful cry of a crocodile over a mercilessly killed victim, which he immediately feeds on.
From the 9th century, the “Library” survived, on which he worked who lived in Constantinople. In this pseudoscientific work, there was a place for the legend of crying crocodile over the heads of those unfortunates whose remains it swallowed up. The author proposed a rather interesting hypothesis, according to which it is not pity that squeezes the tears out of the crocodile, but the lack of meat in the victim’s skull. This is why crocodiles cry when they eat.
What do the researchers say?
In the 12th century Western Europe appeared treatise Hugo the Victorian, in which too we're talking about about crocodile tears. This theme also appears in later periods.
In 1357, residents of the city of Liege (the territory of modern Belgium) had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work “Mandeville’s Travels”. An unknown author in one of the stories talks about how Ethiopian crocodiles cry while eating people.
The 17th century Russian dictionary-reference book “Azbukovnik” did not ignore the topic of crocodile tears. In the section on the crocodile, the description of the animal living in the water is almost no different from that given in the “Library” of Photius. That is, the crocodile cries after having dealt with human body, can’t decide what to do with his head.
Crocodile tears from a Christian perspective
In the Latin and Greek versions of the Physiologists, the image of a crocodile was associated with the concept of hell and the image of the devil. Everything that was put in contrast to him was related to Jesus Christ. Unlike the tears of Christ, crocodile tears in the understanding of Christians are apostasy from the righteous faith. Nevertheless, people never tired of speculating about why the crocodile was crying.
Imperceptibly, starting around the 50s of the 17th century, the expression “crocodile tears” moves from the plane of its relationship with Christian virtue. Allegory is increasingly becoming the subject of sentimentalism, which has appeared in the literature of a new direction. Thus, the Russian fabulist A.K. Mazdorf in his work “Tears of a Crocodile” ridiculed sentimental tearfulness and presented it in an ironic form. But the satirist Erasmus of Rotterdam (“In Praise of Stupidity”) offered his humorous interpretation - a hungry crocodile, seeing a victim, reflexively salivates, which is perceived as tears. It is impossible to say for sure whether a crocodile is crying.
Scientific explanation of the nature of crocodile tears
An attempt to scientifically explain the origin was made by Schmidt-Nilsson and Fange, modern researchers from Sweden. Salts that have accumulated in excess in the body cannot be removed from it through the kidneys. Special glands located in the eye area help cope with this task. Periodically, as needed, they open and the salts leave the body. Nature, in addition to crocodiles, has endowed such “abilities” with some other representatives of this class of animals, namely turtles, iguanas and sea snakes. Now you know why the crocodile cries.
Zoologists from Florida confirmed the proposed theory of their Swedish colleagues through experiments with caimans and alligators. Moreover, the fact of the release of “tears” during a meal was captured by a video camera. This became proof of the scientific theory.
- these are large reptiles, the closest relatives of those extinct in ancient times dinosaurs. These terrible predators inspired sacred horror in the ancient Egyptians; monsters from the fairy tales of many peoples are similar to a crocodile. The legendary demonic creature - Leviathan - is a huge crocodile. These predators always “smile” - their teeth are visible even when their mouths are closed.
Despite the fact that both crocodiles and alligators are close relatives (they belong to the same order), there is a difference between them, which is expressed in their appearance. To easily distinguish these reptiles, you need, first of all, to look at their muzzle: a narrow and slightly elongated one indicates that this is a crocodile, while a flatter and wider one proves the opposite. Then you can, if it’s not scary, look into the reptile’s mouth: in crocodiles, when the mouth is closed, the upper and lower teeth close together, but in alligators they do not. In addition, the skin of crocodiles is literally dotted with small dark spots, which are very important role- help him determine the position of future prey in the water. The alligator is not so sensitive: it has much fewer dark spots, and they are located only around the jaws.
On the left in the photo is an alligator, on the right is a crocodile
Dangerous predators
Crocodiles are known to be one of the most... dangerous predators of our planet. evoke chilling horror at everything live crocodile capable of using very sharp and dangerous teeth, the main difference of which is the tight closure of the upper row with the lower one. As a result of this, almost no one who, by the will of fate, ends up in the teeth of a crocodile, is given virtually no one chance for salvation. In addition, a crocodile, like a shark, easily changes teeth throughout its life: inside each tooth there is a void in which a new tooth develops.
They feed exclusively on fish, water birds, various and even “relatives” of reptiles, and also, if they can cope with them, very large mammals: buffalos, giraffes, etc. Besides, large crocodiles they feed on small ones, that is, cannibalism is common among these reptiles. Crocodiles often attack people. The stomach of a crocodile is extremely strong, and the gastric juice allows you to digest not only meat, but also horns, hooves, bones and fur!
Crocodile leads night image life. He also hunts at night. A crocodile awaits its prey in ambush. The crocodile stuns the fish with a powerful blow of its tail or throws it ashore. He also knocks down animals with his tail and drags them into the water. In an alien environment, it is difficult for the victim to resist, and the monster easily wins.
Why do crocodiles swallow stones?
Those who think that crocodiles swallow stones because they are simply indiscriminate in their food and like to feast on cobblestones from time to time are absolutely mistaken: the crocodile needs stones in order to feel good and move normally.
According to experts, swallowed stones allow the reptile to better and more confidently stay on the water and under water: it is believed that the stones, by shifting the crocodile’s center of gravity, allow it to easily swim and dive greater depth. However this is not the only reason, forcing crocodiles to treat themselves to cobblestones: the main thing is that these stones (they are called gastroliths) help the animal digest food.
Since, despite the abundance of sharp teeth, crocodiles do not know how to chew, stones that crocodiles swallow and “hide” in the stomach help these reptiles grind food. When food gets into the thick stomach of a crocodile, it is well ground with stones, like millstones, so that the further digestion process takes place without problems.
Third eyelid
The crocodile spends almost all of its time in the river - it comes to land extremely rarely, only at dusk - so nature made sure that the eyes of this reptile do not suffer from constant exposure to water. The crocodile's eyes are equipped with a special semilunar fold, which is also called the “third eyelid,” a membrane that protects the crocodile’s eyes from water, but at the same time allows it to see and navigate perfectly. underwater world. By the way, not only crocodiles have a “third eyelid,” but also birds, which it protects from dust, as well as cats, dogs, etc.
Crocodile tears
The famous “winged” expression - “shedding crocodile tears” means that the experiences that a person experiences are not real: he simply pretends to be sympathetic, while he himself, meanwhile, does his “dirty” deed. It is believed that this turnover appeared after watching a crocodile eat its prey.
It turns out that the crocodile really cries at dinner, but he cries not out of pity and compassion for the one who ended up in his mouth, but simply because he is so amazingly the structure of the body of this reptile. In order to remove excess salt from the body, a crocodile’s kidneys are not enough, and nature has provided special tubules near its eyes: it is through them that tears flow out, and along with the tears, excess salt.
What bird are crocodiles friends with?
Despite the fact that crocodiles, among other living creatures - antelopes, fish, etc. — they also enjoy feasting on various, mainly aquatic birds; they prefer to maintain friendly relations with one of them, the spur lapwing. This is explained by the fact that crocodiles, even despite the fact that their teeth change throughout their lives, take great care of them and try to keep them in good condition. It is precisely with the care of teeth that the tender friendship of crocodiles with lapwings is connected, who literally clean the reptiles’ teeth. They free the crocodile’s mouth from leeches attached to it, pieces of meat stuck between the teeth, etc. It is interesting that, when about to close its mouth, the crocodile waves its head so that the caring birds have time to fly away, and the lapwings, in turn, warn the crocodiles about the impending danger.
Few representatives of the fauna world have such a pedigree as crocodiles. According to scientific data, they appeared on Earth more than 120 million years ago. There is a version that there were 500 different families of these reptiles, but only three of them have survived to this day. The animals got their name from the ancient Greeks, who used the word “crocodilos” to mean “pebble worm.” They named them that because of their lumpy skin, similar to pebbles. Distinctive features The organisms of crocodiles are of great interest to zoologists to this day. In this article we will try to answer the question, why do crocodiles cry when they eat?
Attitude to these reptiles in ancient times
Crocodiles are able to reach huge size. They are very endowed developed jaw, capable of breaking absolutely any bone. These reptiles have excellent control over their incredibly powerful tail. Crocodiles appear to be slow, but on land they can reach speeds of up to 17 km/h. A person needs to try very hard to get away from him.
In ancient times, crocodiles caused fear among some peoples. People have identified a tendency towards resourcefulness in these reptiles. The Egyptians called the crocodiles that densely populated the Nile “divine evil.” To please the cunning reptiles, they gave them food and addressed them with magical rituals. But even the wise priests could not understand why crocodiles cry while eating.
There were no limits to imagination in those days. The famous Greek explorer described amazing behavior crocodile Before hiding in ambush, the reptile took water into its mouth and generously watered the steep path. Why is the crocodile crying? It was hypothesized that he simply felt sorry for his victim.
Researchers' versions
Back in the 12th century, Hugh of Saint-Victor in his work described a crocodile shedding tears over its prey. In 1357, residents of the city of Liege read in one literary work that Ethiopian crocodiles shed tears when they eat food.
The 17th century Russian reference publication "Azbukovnik" put forward its hypothesis as to why the crocodile is crying. It was that the reptile was crying because it didn’t know what to do with the head of its prey. Erasmus of Rotterdam expressed his version of this phenomenon. He said that hungry reptiles drool, not tears.
Scientific explanation
Many researchers were concerned about the question of why the crocodile cries, because sometimes a liquid similar to tears actually flows from its eyes. Scientists from Sweden Fange and Schmidt-Nielsen made an attempt to scientifically explain this behavior of the animal. They found that the clear drops flowing from the crocodile's eyes are not tears. This fluid is secreted not by the lacrimal gland, but by the salt gland.
Reptiles are endowed with it, since their habitat is interconnected with sea water containing excess salt. The kidneys of crocodiles cannot cope with excessive load. Therefore, they have this organ that removes salt from the body.
What is a salt gland
This organ in crocodiles is a cluster of small tubes braided blood vessels. The tubes, like sponges, absorb salt from the blood, turning it into a saturated solution. It accumulates in central channel gland and pours out through a special duct. Why is the crocodile crying? This process occurs because this duct is located in the corners of his eyes. It is not tears that flow from the reptile’s organs of vision, but harmful salts that leave the body. The salt gland began its work, and the crocodile began to cry with burning tears.
It turns out that crocodiles do not cry out of pity for their victims. This phenomenon causes a natural physiological process in their body.
The well-known expression “crocodile tears” symbolizes the insincerity of experiences specific person. It may have appeared after opening salivary glands at the crocodile.
Crocodile hiding in seaweed
Nile crocodiles were once sacred animals, depicted in frescoes and mosaics, and are now bred in crocodile farms, for example in Tunisia. Nile crocodiles are bred on these farms. They used to live here in the wild, but then they disappeared, and now, as I said, they have returned, that is, they are bred on a farm.
Crocodile and butterflies
On the farm, of course, the crocodiles are fed, so to speak, “by hand,” but in wildlife these reptiles lie in wait for their prey and pounce on it. Of course, they feed them meat, throwing large pieces at them, and feed the little ones minced meat, putting it on plates, well, in general, everything is like in a restaurant.
Crocodile swallows a big fish
But what's the point here? crocodile tears, you say? According to legend, the crocodile sheds bitter tears, mourning the victim that he himself just ate. That is, when they say she sheds crocodile tears, it means the tears of a hypocritical person. The expression crocodile tears appeared among scientists when they observed Nile crocodile. He really cries, but, of course, not because he is sad and sorry for the eaten victim, but because he has an excess of salts in his body. The kidneys of this animal are very weak and therefore the glands for secreting moisture are located right next to the eyes, which is why it seems that he is crying.
Little crocodile and frog
Young crocodiles can reach speeds on land of up to twelve kilometers; they don’t just run, they gallop. By the way, these reptiles reproduce with the help of eggs; a crocodile can hatch from twenty to ninety eggs, burying them in warm sand. As they age, crocodiles lose their teeth, which people use as decoration, hanging them around their necks.
Crocodile and lioness
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