Black Cayman: appearance and lifestyle

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

Appearance

These crocodiles have scaly skin . It is a dark color. On the sides on the body there are bands of yellow or white hue. These drawings in young animals are pronounced, but with age they disappear. The older the amphibians become, the smoother their color will be.

Such a palette allows them to mask well in the dark. Also there are bands on the lower jaw. Their color is brown or gray. The embodiment of beauty, fearlessness and threat is the black caiman. You will see a photo of this amazing beast in the article. The crocodile has a small head. The muzzle at it is slightly pointed and narrow, not as wide as in other species. Eyes are huge, brown in color. Its tail is much longer than that of other reptiles.

Approximate number of teeth - from 72 to 76. Their location is such that when you bite the jaw worked like scissors. This allows you to grab your prey and eat it quickly. The weight of amphibians can reach almost 500 kilograms. In length they grow to five meters. Female are distinguished by small marks near the eyes. They are left by annoying bloodthirsty flies, when amphibians stay on guard near their nests. In addition, female representatives are much smaller in size than males. The length of their body varies from two to four meters. The weight is about 160 kilograms.

Food

Quite small caimans eat mainly small fish, snails and frogs. Amphibians, which exceed one meter, can eat piranhas and small animals that are near the ponds. The largest crocodiles eat snakes, monkeys, deer and sloths. They all become easy prey for adult caimans. Especially in places where people go for a walk. Very often, and his offspring by mistake can eat a crocodile.

The black cayman also catches and absorbs dolphins, anaconda and cattle without difficulty . After all, his jaws are good at crushing bones and easily pulling out pieces of meat, but they can not chew. Therefore, small animals are swallowed whole. Sometimes its prey is hided by the caiman under the water, for further easy cutting. Several cases of attacks on humans were recorded, but this is a rare occurrence. Apparently, due to the fact that the villages are located away from the habitats of animals.

Reproduction

During the drought, the female begins to build nests from the 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 eggs for about 60 pieces in one sitting. It digs them into a new dwelling. There they are before the rainy season, after which the cubs hatch. The mother keeps watch over her babies all the time until the incubation period ends. Small amphibians, who just came into the world, can already dive and swim.

Only once in three years the females lay eggs. And the process of education takes several months. Parents dishonestly treat the offspring, so most children become prey to different predators. Few people live to adulthood.

Influence of other predators

Different predators, as well as fish, anacondas and other amphibians can enjoy the cubs of crocodiles. But when they grow and reach about one meter in length, the number of enemies in them is significantly reduced. Huge otters sometimes kill caimans, although they themselves are constantly becoming their victims. And a predator like a jaguar can only be a threat to young crocodiles. Usually he is afraid of adults. Although recorded one case, when a large black cayman was caught by this wild beast on land. In general, such amphibians, given their size and tremendous power, have practically no enemies, except humans.

Number and Value

These wondrous animals have chic skin, which is very appreciated because of its quality and beauty. Because of this, they were actively hunting, which led to a critical decline in the population of caimans in the late 50's. At that time, their appearance could be seen only in some places of the Amazon. And only thanks to the rainforests, these crocodiles did not completely perish.

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

Habitat

These individuals live in the reservoirs of almost the whole of South America. They live in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Guyana. In a word, crocodiles spread through the territory where tropical forests predominate. Their favorite places of settlement are closed lakes and quiet rivers, which are in secluded thickets. After all, the climate in such places is wet and not very hot, which safely affects the livelihoods and reproduction of crocodiles. Also black caimans can be seen in the Russian capital. These amphibians are in the most beautiful Moscow zoo.

Trophy "Russian fishing"

In South America, as everyone knows, there is the Amazon River. It is the largest in the world in its size. It is surrounded by large ponds: Ucayali and Maranyon. In this basin there are giant anacondas, piranhas, exotic fish and, of course, crocodiles. In the marshes of the Amazon there is also a black cayman. 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 pond and arrange a hunt for amphibians. Some kill them for sale in order to earn money. After all, the price of such a catch is very high. And others try to catch predators, just to take photos with them and release them back into the river. Because of this treatment of people, the black caiman began to fear them. "Russian fishing" is very popular not only in our region, but also in South America. Many of our compatriots come to the Amazon to independently hunt crocodiles. For them, this is like a great sport or competition among connoisseurs of large-scale catch.

To catch this beautiful reptile, you need to take the bait from the animal's meat, attach it to a rope and dip it into the reservoir. Cayman will smell and swim to the gear. It is best to hunt crocodiles at night. They are very active during this period and even go out to the banks of rivers and lakes. You can also catch small amphibians in a fish or a large bird.

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