I keep running into mobs that are usually found on the surface (crows and crocodiles especially). They are quite common even in the Deepslate layer as well. I'm pretty sure it isn't intentional as I don't recall ever encountering these specific mobs in caves until recently.

(I'm running Minecraft 1.20.1 with Alex's Mobs version 1.22.5).

I disabled the mod, and it seems to have fixed the issue.

I'm getting this as well! Ton of crows, almost at bedrock. Version 1.22.9

Hey, do you have Respawning Animals by any chance? I did some testing and I think that may be contributing to this if not causing it altogether

Yes, I have been using Respawning Animals.

Could you try disabling it and see if the issue persists?