Crying Crocodile Tears

Everyone has heard the phrase "crying crocodile tears”. It is a common expression which is used for depicting fake sadness or insincere remorse. The expression comes from an ancient anecdote that crocodiles weep in order to lure their prey, or that they cry for the victims they are eating. The term gained wide popularity as a result of a passage in one book, "The Voyage and Travel” of Sir John Mandeville in the 14th century. However, it is not entirely folklore. Crocodiles do form real tears. A University of Florida (UF) researcher has found that crocodiles do cry while eating. "There are a lot of references in general literature to crocodiles feeding and crying, but it's almost entirely anecdotal, and from the biological perspective there is quite a bit of confusion on the subject in the scientific literature, so we decided to take a closer look." said UF zoologist Kent Vliet.

An alligator weeps while eating
at the Florida's St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Vliet observed and videotaped four captive caimans and three alligators, both close relatives of the crocodile while they were eating on a spit of dry land at Florida's St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. And, believe it or not, crocodiles really do wipe while feasting, but rather due to physiological reasons than remorse. Kent Vliet found that five of the seven animals teared up as they tore into their food, with some of their eyes even frothing and bubbling.

Vliet said he believes that tears may have occured as a result of the animals hissing and huffing, a behaviour that often accompanies feeding. Air forced through the sinuses may mix with tears in the crocodiles’ lachrymal, or tear, glands emptying into the eye.
But one thing is sure: faux grief is not a factor. “In my experience,” Vliet said, “when crocodiles take something into their mouth, they mean it.”

Just like human beings crocodiles do possess the lachrymal glands, the same gland from which human tears flow. These glands produces a fluid which is secreted behind the nictitating membrane (the crocodile’s third eyelid).The fluid helps in keeping the eyes clean and reducing the chance of bacterial growth. However, the tears are visible only after a crocodile is out of the water for a prolonged period of time, and the eyes begin to dry out.