Clever Crocodiles

According to Vladmir Dinets, a research from the University of Tennessee, found that reptiles use "lures" to hunt. He observe muggers and american alligators. He observed that they used twigs and sticks to lure birds, especially when birds were build a nest. His research was named the first to introduce predators timing the seasonal behavior of their prey. 

He observed the crocodiles laying in water with twigs and sticks laying on their snouts, and they fooled the birds that were building nest. The birds thought that the sticks were just floating in the water.Him and his colleagues want to see more of the crocodiles being clever. They observed that there was a significant increase in the luring between the month of March to May, which is usually the time birds build nest. 

 Dinets, he said "This study changes the way crocodiles have historically been viewed. They are typically seen as lethargic, stupid and boring but now they are known to exhibit flexible multimodal signaling, advanced parental care and highly coordinated group hunting tactics. Our research provides a surprising insight into previously unrecognized complexity of extinct reptile behavior." .

The article also discusses that the alligators may have behave like dinosaurs.  

University of Tennessee at Knoxville. "Crocodiles are cleverer than previously thought: Some crocodiles use lures to hunt their prey." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 December 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131204182433.htm>.