The Black Caiman

Nov 20, 2022 News

Interesting creature…

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – The black caiman is one of the largest species of alligators that can reach a massive size of almost six meters long with a lifespan of 50 to 80 years old. Its scientific name is Melanosuchusniger and is considered to be a large crocodilian.

Black Caimans basking in the sun along the bank of the Rupununi River, Region Nine (Photo credit: Guyana South America)

This interesting creature is listed as an endangered species that is native to South America, and Guyana is one of the few places on earth that they can be found. Large black caimans can be seen basking in the sun along the banks of the Rupununi River in Region Nine, and it is one of the reasons why foreign biology students and scientists travel in their numbers to Guyana just to study these amazing animals.

In fact, research on the black caiman by American scientists led to the founding of the Caiman House Eco Lodge in Central Rupununi. Among the many black caimans that inhabit this part of Guyana, one has become a celebrity and would often make his way to the Iwokrama River Lodge to meet tourists and researchers. Workers at the lodge have nicknamed him Sankar.

One of Guyana’s renowned environmentalists, Jean La Rose during an interview with The Waterfalls a while back had related that Sankar might be around 20 years old. She said that Sankar has been hanging outside of the River Lodge in the Essequibo River for a number of years. He made friends at the River Lodge after researchers began feeding him scraps of meat each time he showed up and, in return, he made himself one of the main attractions there.

Sankar, a black caiman liming at the Iwokrama River Lodge

According to La Rose, Sankar has a missing limb and they suspect that he might have lost it during a fight with another male caiman. Sometimes, Sankar would leave the River Lodge for lengthy periods, but would always return to spend time with his friends there. Researchers believe that during those periods, Sankar would go looking for a ‘girlfriend’.

Although Sankar seems friendly, visitors at the River Lodge would be warned not to get too close to him, or even to go swimming in the river because he is still a wild animal that is large enough to kill a human being.

Although black caimans rarely attack humans, they can still be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened. These large reptiles, however, are apex predators that prefer hunting at night and, like their name suggests, they are dark in colour. Their dark leathery scaly skin gives them the perfect camouflage at night to pounce on unsuspecting prey.

Black caimans use their sensitive sight and hearing to catch birds, fish, turtles, capybaras, and some larger mammals. They have teeth that are made to grasp their food, but not chew or kill it, so they normally drown their catch and, if it is of a small enough size, swallow it whole.

If the prey is too large then the black caiman would leave it to rot, and, when decayed enough, they return to eat it. These large reptiles also make noises like rumbling thunder for communication with their own species. Not much is known about the black caiman’s mating habits, but crocodilian males generally mate with more than one female during mating seasons.

It is thought that female black caimans nest from September to December during the dry season, when water levels drop, and fish have only shallow pools to swim in, providing an easy and abundant meal.

These animals use plant material to build a nest mound measuring around 1.5 meters across, where a large clutch of as many as 65 eggs are laid. Females remain close to their nests, waiting 42 to 90 days for the eggs to begin to hatch, and they open the nest to help with the hatching process. Females would often nest close together, so large numbers of hatchlings emerge at the same time at the start of the wet season. A mother will try to care for her young for a few months, but they are largely independent. Most do not make it to adulthood. Female black caimans breed only once in 2 to 3 years.

Source of information used in this article: Black caiman – Wikipedia, Black Caiman – Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio, Black Caiman – Photos of Guyana (guyanasouthamerica.gy)