Crocodile sex frenzy triggered by Chinook helicopters
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ ... rana-farm/
Rotor blades spur a burst of mating at Queensland farm in Australia, researchers find
By Nick Squires 3 October 2023 • 12:59pm
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The thunderous sound made by the rotor blades of military helicopters provokes sex frenzies among saltwater crocodiles in Australia, researchers have found.
It is believed that to the crocodiles, the sonorous thump of the choppers sounds either like the mating roar of rival males – which spurs them to rush to mate with females – or evokes the sound of thunder, which signals the onset of the wet season and breeding time.
The unusual phenomenon has been observed at a crocodile farm in Queensland, where the reptiles are bred for their meat and skins.
Koorana Crocodile Farm, outside the coastal city of Rockhampton, is on a flight path used by helicopters heading to and from the huge Shoalwater Bay military training area to the north.
The owners of the reptile farm have noticed that every time big military helicopters such as Chinooks swoop in, male crocodiles go into a libidinous frenzy in what has been described as a mass “romp in the swamp”.
John Lever, the owner of the farm, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “We had a big Chinook that came down low because the guys wanted to take some pictures of the crocodiles.
“They were hanging out the door … and of course, Chinooks have got a big ‘thump, thump, thump’, like that. All of the big males got up and roared and bellowed up at the sky, and then after the helicopters left, they mated like mad.”
In saltwater crocodiles’ natural habitat across northern Australia, thunderstorms act as “an aphrodisiac” – “it really turns them on”, said Mr Lever.
The noise and vibrations emitted by a powerful military helicopter may evoke the signs that the crocodiles pick up from an approaching storm.
The big “salties”, as saltwater crocodiles are nicknamed in Australia, generally start to breed during the wet season.
“They’re probably using it as a bit of a cue to say: ‘Hey the wet’s coming’ … and it’s a good time to start mating so the eggs are ready to be laid at just the right time,” said Dr Cameron Baker, a crocodile expert from Charles Darwin University.
Male crocodiles may also mistake the noise of an approaching chopper for the sound normally made by a rival male, which would spur them into mating with the nearest female to exclude competitors.
“It might be producing a very low-frequency ‘thump, thump’ as it hits the water,” Dr Baker told the ABC. “That may just coincidentally be similar to some of the sounds big male crocodiles produce to say: ‘Hey, this is my turf.’”
Koorana is the first commercial crocodile farm in Queensland, having opened more than 40 years ago. It was initially stocked with aggressive problem crocodiles that Mr Lever and his wife captured in the wild.
The farm operates tours for visitors and has a restaurant that offers croc burgers, croc kebabs, croc pies and even crocodile spicy noodle soup.
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