Crocodile surf

Nature tracks crocodile migrations, showing how they get around by surfing:

Zoologists didn’t know how the reptiles travelled such long distances given the sustained level of swimming required.

The answer is that the crocodiles ride surface currents, says a group led by Craig Franklin, a zoologist at the University of Queensland in Australia. The reptiles only travel when the current flows in the direction of their desired journey, the researchers report.
…

“They know when the current is flowing in the direction they want to travel,” says Franklin. “It is like they are purposeful. They seem to be making a decision prior to the journey that they will travel with the current.”

…

The latest study indicates that surfing the ocean currents is an effective migration method for estuarine crocodiles. Surfing also provides a way for individuals from distant populations to cross ocean barriers and breed, helping to explain why estuarine crocodiles have not diversified into different species.

I’m betting localism wasn’t a problem for these guys.

Tags: zoology