Military helicopters drive Australia’s crocodiles into a … sex frenzy

At Koorana Crocodile Farm in her Queensland Australia there are 3,000 reptiles. And as her owners recently found out, a low flight of one is enough Chinook helicopter to turn the crocodile farm into… orgy farm.

Usually the sounds of thunder and the storms it is when the crocodiles’ sexual instincts are awakened, as it is the rainy season ideal for mating.

But, as stated by Guardianbut since the Singapore Armed Forces began conducting joint military exercises in the area, and their Chinooks have marked Koorana Farm as a diversion point, crocodiles to the sound of helicopters they are aroused and driven into a sexual frenzyas farm owner John Lever describes.

“The crocodiles start shouting at each other. Then all the big males stand up and roar and thunder into the sky. And after the helicopters leave, they mate like crazy.”

So what is it about helicopters that crocodiles find it so irritating; There is no official scientific explanation, but some theories have been put forward.

Males could be reacting to something they think it is lightning strike (harbinger of the aforementioned wet season). It is even possible that the low flight of military helicopters creates a temporary drop in barometric pressure which tricks the crocodiles into thinking that a storm is coming.

We know of no other animals that react in a similar way to the passage of helicopters, but anthropogenic noise can affect animal mating in many ways, mostly negative. Studies have shown that car traffic noise interferes with a female Mediterranean cricket’s ability to distinguish a superior male courtship song from an inferior one. Other scientists have investigated whether the sound of New Year’s fireworks disrupts the reproductive habits of sea lions in Chile.

Should I? to try sending some Chinook helicopters to crickets and sea lions? More studies will definitely be needed…