Black caiman: appearance and lifestyle

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Brazilian black caiman (crocodile family) are called hunters in the night. In the dark, they most often go out in search of their prey. To see such a creature is quite difficult. But there are especially brave individuals who go hunting to personally catch a rare amphibian. The animal has its own characteristics. Caimans live only in some parts of our planet. Below we will get to know them in detail.

Appearance

These crocodiles have scaly skin. She is dark in color. On the sides of the body are stripes of yellow or white. These drawings are pronounced in young animals, but they disappear with age. The older the amphibians become, the more even their color will be.

This palette allows them to be well camouflaged in the dark. There are also stripes on the lower jaw. Their color is brown or grey. The embodiment of beauty, fearlessness and menace is the black caiman. You will see a photo of this amazing beast later in the article. The crocodile has a small head. Its muzzle is slightly pointed and narrow, not as wide as in other species. The eyes are large and brown. Its tail is much longer than other reptiles.

The approximate number of teeth is from 72 to 76. Their location is such that when biting, the mouth works like scissors. This allows you to grab your prey well and eat it quickly. The weight of amphibians can reach almost 500 kilograms. They grow up to five meters in length. Females are distinguished by small marks near the eyes. They are left behind by pesky bloodthirsty flies when amphibians are on guard near their nests. In addition, female representatives are significantly smaller in size than males. Their body length ranges from two to four meters. Weight is approximately 160 kilograms.

Food

Very small caimans feed mainly on small fish, snails and frogs. Amphibians that exceed one meter can eat piranhas and small animals located near water bodies. The largest crocodiles feed on snakes, monkeys, deer and sloths. They all become easy prey for adult caimans. Especially in those places where they go for a walk. Very often, a crocodile may mistakenly eat its offspring.

The black caiman is also excellent at catching and absorbing dolphins, anacondas and cattle without difficulty. After all, his jaws crush bones well and easily tear out pieces of meat, but they cannot chew. Therefore, small animals are swallowed whole. Sometimes the caiman hides its prey under water, for further easybutchering. Several cases of attacks on a person have been recorded, but this is a rare occurrence. Apparently, due to the fact that the villages are located far from the habitats of animals.

Reproduction

During the drought period, the female begins to build nests from collected leaves, grass and dry branches. Their size reaches one and a half meters. Height - a little less than a hundred centimeters. The female lays about 60 eggs in one sitting. She buries them in a new home. There they stay until the advent of the rainy season, after which the cubs hatch. The mother guards her babies all the time until the incubation period is over. Small amphibians that have just been born can already dive and swim.

Only once every three years, females lay eggs. And the process of upbringing takes several months. Parents are unscrupulous about the education of their offspring, so most children become prey to various predators. Few survive to adulthood.

Influence of other predators

Different predators, as well as fish, anacondas and other amphibians can eat baby crocodiles. But when they grow up and reach about one meter in length, the number of enemies they have is significantly reduced. Huge otters sometimes kill caimans, although they themselves constantly become their victims. And such a predator as a jaguar can only pose a threat to young crocodiles. He is usually afraid of adults. Although one case has been recorded when a great black caimanwas caught by this wild beast on dry land. In general, such amphibians, given their size and enormous strength, have practically no enemies other than humans.

Number and value

These wonderful animals have gorgeous skin, which is highly valued for its quality and beauty. Because of this, they were actively hunted, which led to a critical decline in the population of caimans in the late 50s. At that time, their appearance could only be seen in some places in the Amazon. And only thanks to the rainforests, these crocodiles did not completely die.

Twenty years later, people realized that the black caiman itself plays an important role in the ecological environment. When amphibians filled all the reservoirs and began to multiply, they destroyed a huge part of the harmful vegetation. And it had a positive impact on the environment. Therefore, laws were passed to prohibit the destruction of crocodiles. At the moment, the number of these individuals has reached approximately one million. To date, nothing threatens the population of black caimans.

Habitat

These individuals live in the waters of almost all of South America. They live in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Guiana. In a word, crocodiles have spread throughout the territory dominated by tropical forests. Their favorite places of settlement are closed lakes and quiet rivers located in secluded thickets. After all, the climate in such places is humid and not very hot, which favorably affects the life and reproduction of crocodiles. Also black caimans can besee in the capital of Russia. These amphibians are in the most beautiful Moscow Zoo.

Russian Fishing Trophy

In South America, as everyone knows, there is the Amazon River. It is the largest in the world in its size. It is adjacent to large reservoirs: Ucayali and Marañon. Giant anacondas, piranhas, exotic fish and, of course, crocodiles live in this pool. The black caiman is also found in the swamps of the Amazon. Trophy fishing on it is very popular. Since this animal is very rare and beautiful, and its skin is in great demand in the markets, people come to this reservoir and hunt amphibians. Some kill them for sale to make money. After all, the price of such a catch is very high. And others are trying to catch predators, just to take photos with them and release them back into the river. Because of such treatment of people, their black caiman began to be afraid. "Russian fishing" is very popular not only in our area, but also in South America. Many of our compatriots come to the Amazon to hunt crocodiles on their own. For them, it's like a big sport or a competition among connoisseurs of big catch.

To catch this beautiful reptile, you need to take the bait from the meat of the animal, attach it to a rope and slightly dip it into the pond. The caiman will smell and swim to the tackle. The best time to hunt crocodiles is at night. During this period, they are as active as possible and even go to the banks of rivers and lakes. You can also catch small amphibians for fish or largebird.

Also, not far from the reservoirs where crocodiles live, there are special houses for tourists who come to relax and look not only at wildlife, but also at these amazing individuals. The black caiman is a very large predator, which is dangerous not only for small animals, but also for humans.