A crocodile saved a dog's life by pushing it out of the river (6 photos)
Sometimes the laws of nature are cruel, but sometimes even its most ferocious creatures act kindly. Recently, Indian residents filmed three crocodile saved the life of a dog who was hiding from a pack of wild relatives. It ended up in the river, and predators could easily eat it - but chose a different path! Scientists explained this behavior of crocodiles. 
These photos were taken on the banks of a river in the state of Maharashtra, in western India. Residents saw a stray dog jump into the river fleeing from a pack of ferocious relatives. As soon as the dog was in the river, she was surrounded by three swamp crocodiles. It seemed that the poor guy had no chance - but Instead of eating the dog for lunch, the crocodiles decided to help her. They pushed her with their muzzles towards the shore. 
This behavior of crocodiles was even explained by scientists:
"The crocodiles pushed the dog towards the shore, touching it muzzles so that she could safely get ashore. Considering that the crocodile could immediately eat the dog, he did not attack it, but instead chose push to the shore. This means he was not hungry," they say scientists from the Journal of Threatened Taxa. 
According to scientists, swamp crocodiles are not always aggressive, and in this case, they showed their emotional intelligence, or even empathy and compassion towards the dog. So they wanted to help her rather to escape from a pack of relatives. Although manifestations of empathy have not been studied in swamp crocodiles, experts believe that in this regard, reptiles underestimated. 
Swamp crocodiles are most commonly found in India. Length adult males reach 3.2 m and weigh 200 kg. Not long ago, scientists revealed another interesting fact about this type of crocodiles - they love marigold. They were very often found near these flowers along the river Savitri. Marigolds are believed to help protect crocodiles from fungi and bacteria - that’s why they chose reptiles so much. 
Swamp crocodile
