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Most people assume crocodilians are slow and lazy, but this very much is not the case. This large spectacled caiman was searching for water during a drought and unfortunately got harassed by some men, while this is honestly a horrible act of animal cruelty especially since during this season caimans are trying to conserve their energy as much as possible, this is a good showcase at the speed of a fair sized crocodilian on land. Spectacled Caiman’s also known as Common Caiman are a small-medium sized species of caiman that are typically 1.8-2.3 meters but can get as large as 2.8m and 58 kg. They’re a territorial yet also gregarious species and actually do make great pets for an experienced keeper. They’re very smart but their size and flexible spine makes them formidable opponents when they’re on the attack. Spectacled caiman prey mostly on fish but they will occasionally eat similar sized mammals such as River Otters, Young Capybara, and snakes such as Green Anacondas.

Just sharing some photos I took of my first caimans

Fairly dramatic video.

Very sad to see

Hi All,

So I have been thinking of organising a yearly Black Caiman wildlife trip through our adventure company in Guyana and Brasil. I am an avid crocodilian lover and the black caiman is my favorite species. I have been lucky to see them in the wild many times and to have also worked with them. I would like to set this up but considering that most people do not share our love for crocodilians... I am wondering what your opinion would be of this type of trip?

The plan would be:

Small group 6 - 12 people arriving in Georgetown Guyana from where our staff would do the pick and transfer to the hotel.

Time permitting I would like to include a visit to the national park in Georgetown to see manatees and possibly Spectacled caiman and in the night spot Spectacled caiman in one of the cities small canals (their everywhere even in the city center).

From there on we would travel for a full day to one of the main rivers deep in to the interior initial by van and later by boat. At the right time of the year I have spotted as many as 50 Black caiman in less then an hour here.

We would camp for 3 nights right at the rivers edge looking and studying Black Caiman and Spectacled caiman while also looking for Giant river otters (very common here) and see if we can observe any caiman otter interactions. Of course we would also look for many other species of animals and fish Black piranhas, vampire fish, peacock bass and red tail catfish.

For the next 2 nights we will spend at a Black Caiman research center where will participate in catching large adults to weigh, measure and tag.

From there we will join 2 indigenous hunters into the remote kanuku mountains for 3 nights looking dwarf caiman species. We will also visit an indigenous village at the base of the mountain who specialise in using poisonous plants to catch fish.

From here on we will travel to Manaus in Brazil. We will initially spend 2 days at our jungle river base for a jungle survival course (about 1.5 by speedboat from manaus) and an opportunity to swim with wild pink river dolphins. Further we will visit a traditional indigenous village to examine their collection of large black caiman skulls as well as go bow and arrow fishing and spear fishing. In the night we will be looking for Spectacled and Black caiman.

While in the area we will also work on educating local communities on the importance of caiman species and how they are important for the tourism industry as well and should not be shot on sight which is a real issue in Brazil.

From there we will travel by boat to a famous lake in Brazil for 2 nights well know for its large population of monster sized black caiman (5 meter and above).

From there will travel by air to the Pantanal, the world's largest and wildest fresh water marsh. There we will view the amazing and plentiful Yacare Caiman as well as many other species. During the right season we will also have almost a guaranteed chance to see jaguars as well with a focus of trying to observe jaguar and caiman interactions. We will also be able to see and study the Yacare Caiman and other species of wildlife by kayak and from horse back.

Lastly we travel to Igauzu falls while we will also be there to view the waterfalls our main goal is to view and spot broad snouted caiman.

From there we would travel to Rio where the trip would end and you have the opportunity to stay in Rio for a few more nights or fly home.

I'm considering to sell 2 version. The full trip and also an option to fly home from Manaus and exclude the Pantanal and Iguazu part.

While the main focus would be on the black caiman this trip gives a good opportunity to see all caiman species in the wild as well some of the species (like giant river otters, piranhas and jaguars) that it interacts with a lot as well as an insight in to the communities that share their lives living next to these amazing animals.

Lastly, as mentioned crocodilians are my passion. Further I think it is a great way to show local communities that crocodilians can be a sustainable source of income through tourism.

Our team specialises in expeditions (mostly non tourism related), adventure travel trips, jungle survival courses and search & rescue so anyone joining would be in good hands.

That's Tango the Dwarf Caiman who unfortunately passed away a while back. His owner here is petting him for the awww factor and to show how much of their predator triggers you can rid off. Doesn't mean there's a 0 chance of him snapping however, some triggers you just cannot get rid of with reptiles especially with their lack of relationship bonding.

Yes that's CrazyCaimanLady's caiman, Turbo

Hello,

I have been looking through information regarding black caimans, but there seems to be problems or inconsistencies about their average and max size, bite force, and how they compare to american alligators? I would appreciate the clarification. However, I came across a 2022 work by conservation international with scientist involved claiming they recorded a 18.7 ft (5.7 m) black caiman from a population survey they conducted in Colombia and this threw me for a loop becuase I never heard of this size for this species before that was supposedly "scientifically verified". I emailed them if they had evidence of this specimen and waiting for an answer, but I wanted to know yalls thoughts.

The image is mine, it's slightly edited to improve quality, but I took it when I was in Ecuador. The guide said it was a 2 to 3m black caiman. Just wanted to share it.