The individuals of the Brazilian black cayman (Crocodile family) are called hunters in the night. In the dark, they most often go in search of their prey. To see such a creature is quite difficult. But there are especially courageous 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 . It is dark in color. On the sides of the body are stripes of yellow or white. These patterns in young animals are pronounced, but they disappear with age. The older amphibians become, the smoother their color will be.
Such a palette allows them to disguise themselves well in the dark. There are also stripes on the lower jaw. Their color is brown or gray. The embodiment of beauty, fearlessness and threat is the black cayman. Photos of this amazing beast you will see later in the article. The crocodile has a small head. Its muzzle is slightly pointed and narrow, not as wide as that of other species. The eyes are huge, 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 bitten, 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. In length, they grow up to five meters. Females differ in small marks near the eyes. Annoying bloodthirsty flies leave them when amphibians are on guard near their nests. In addition, female representatives are significantly smaller in size than males. The length of their body ranges from two to four meters. Weight is approximately 160 kilograms.
Nutrition
Very small caimans feed mainly on small fish, snails and frogs. Amphibians, which 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 can eat its offspring by mistake.
The black cayman also catches perfectly and without difficulty absorbs dolphins, anacondas and cattle. After all, his jaws crush bones well and easily tear out pieces of meat, but can not chew. Therefore, small animals are swallowed whole. Sometimes the caiman hides its prey under water, for further easy butchering. Several cases of attacks on humans have been recorded, but this is a rare occurrence. Apparently, due to the fact that the villages are located far from animal habitats.
Breeding
During the period of 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 at about 60 in one sitting. She bury them in a new home. There they are until the rainy season, after which the cubs hatch. A mother guards her babies all the time until the incubation period ends. Small amphibians that have just been born can already dive and swim.
Only once every three years do the females lay their eggs. And the process of education takes several months. Parents are unscrupulous about learning offspring, so most children become the prey of different predators. Few live to adulthood.
The influence of other predators
Various predators, as well as fish, anacondas and other amphibians can enjoy the crocodile cubs. 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, like a jaguar, can be a threat only to young crocodiles. Usually he is afraid of adults. Although one case was recorded when a large black caiman was caught by this wild beast on land. In general, such amphibians, given their size and tremendous strength, have virtually no enemies except humans.
Number and value
These wondrous animals have gorgeous skin, which is very appreciated because of its quality and beauty. Because of this, they were actively hunted, which led to a critical decline in the caiman population 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 cayman itself plays an important role in the ecological environment. When amphibians filled all reservoirs and began to multiply, they destroyed a huge part of the harmful vegetation. And it was safely reflected in the surrounding nature. Therefore, laws were passed banning the destruction of crocodiles. Currently, the number of these individuals has reached approximately one million. To date, nothing threatens the population of black caimans.
Habitat
These individuals live in reservoirs of almost all of South America. They live in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Guiana. In a word, crocodiles spread throughout the territory where tropical forests predominate. 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 safely affects the livelihoods and reproduction of crocodiles. Also black cayman can be seen in the capital of Russia. 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 size. Large reservoirs adjoin to it: Ukayali and Maranyon. Gigantic anacondas, piranhas, exotic fish and, of course, crocodiles live in this pool. In the swamps of the Amazon there is also a black caiman. 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 arrange hunting for 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 let them go back into the river. Because of such treatment of people with him, their black cayman became 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 is like a big sport or competition among connoisseurs of a large catch.
To catch this beautiful reptile, you need to take a bait from the meat of an animal, attach it to a rope and dip it a little in a reservoir. Cayman will smell and sail to the gear. It is best to hunt crocodiles 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 large birds.
Also not far from the reservoirs where the crocodiles live, there are special houses for tourists that come to relax and look not only at the 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.