Are crocodilians capable of learning?
Yes, crocodilians can learn very well. You won’t be able to train them to fetch your slippers, but given time they can recognise individual people and react to them in a positive or negative manner. They can learn events, such as what leads up to feeding time, or enclosure cleaning time. Be aware, however, that this can work against you if you’re not careful. For example, if you feed your animal the same way day after day it will learn the routine and know when to expect food to appear. If you accidentally duplicate parts of this routine when you clean the enclosure, the animal may think it’s about to be fed – and getting bitten by an over-enthusiastic caiman is a very likely possibility. In the wild, crocodilians display a wide range of social and sometimes even cooperative behaviours. The creature regarding you from behind the glass is smarter than you think.
