These are crocodile tears of joy.
In the Sundarbans, a dense mangrove forest in Asia, trail cameras were set up to help researchers track tiger populations — but they found something else instead.
Images captured crocodiles nesting deep in the forest, far from their usual location alongside the riverbanks. The lack of nests last year confused researchers, who found only one or two close to typical areas.
"We were surprised about not being able to find enough nests near the creeks," Rajendra Jakhar, the field director of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, told Telegraph India.
The trail cameras caught other good news, like thriving populations of otters, wild boar, spotted deer, and jungle cats. Trail cameras are a great tool for conservationists, allowing them to track population numbers and document behaviors without the need for frequent human interaction.
A trail camera in India captured a marvelous sight — a marbled cat, a near-threatened species. Meanwhile, in a nature reserve in California, a trail camera caught a mama black bear and her new cubs, a sign that the preserved habitat was flourishing.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), over 47,000 species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction. The IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species places them on a scale ranging from least concern to critically endangered, helping researchers across the world best direct their conservation efforts.
While the saltwater crocodile is of "least concern," their new nesting behavior is giving conservationists a better idea of how animals are shifting their behaviors amid challenges like rising global temperatures.
Forest officials were fascinated by the new nesting activity of the crocodiles.
"The danger is that the eggs are exposed to other predators," one forest official said, per Telegraph India. "But at the same time, it saves the eggs from getting damaged in tidal waters. I think the crocodiles are adapting."
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