• Question: is there such thing as crocodile tears if so what are they?

    Asked by 539anmh42 to Carrie, Cedric, Ellen, Rupert on 15 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      I looked this one up and against my guess, crocodiles can cry! They only produce tears to lubricate their eyes though, not to express an emotion. The term comes from old myths that crocodiles cried as they ate their prey. learnt something new thanks to your question, thanks!

    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      I think there are such a thing as crocodile tears… in so much that I genuinely believe some people are very fond of ‘fake tears’! But I did want to find out where the phrase came from, I found this page whilst on my hunt http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/01/can-crocodiles-really-cry/. Really good read – apparently it stemmed from a belief that crocodiles used to weep to lure prey in! The article also seems to suggest that crocodiles can physically weep (although it is unlikely to be linked to emotions) so it would seem that yes there are crocodile tears… both those shed by crocs and those shed by people (when they are trying to appear upset) 🙂

    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      Yes, crocodiles do cry real tears, but not because they’re sad. Ten years ago a study investigated this myth. They filmed aligators and caimans (members of the crocodile family) before and during feeding. When they fed them, the animals’ eyes became “moist”. Tears were produced. They think this is because when they eat pressure builds up which forces chemicals into their eyes. Crocodiles also cry when they have been out of the water a long time – it helps to stop their eyes becoming too dry. The scientific name for crying is “lacrimation”. You can read a news story about this study here:
      http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/071010-crocodile-tears.html

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