We have been very fortunate on this trip to see a number of rare rainforest animals! Most people that visit the jungle hope to see anacondas, howler monkeys, and pink dolphins, but surprisingly few do. Our ability to spend five weeks here canoeing in some of the most remote regions of the Pacaya-Samiria has given us the opportunity to find some really cool creatures. Thanks for your continued excitement about the Animals of the Amazon!

We thought it would be difficult to top the anaconda, but we have been fortunate enough to see a number of black caimans in the past week! These are truly amazing animals and they are quite rare. People used to hunt them heavily and there aren't many left. The ones that are still around are quite elusive, only coming out of the flooded forest at night to hunt.

All of the caimans we have seen have been at night. At one of the ranger stations about a week ago we were told that two crocodiles lived on the river near there and each was about 5 meters long! That night a ranger brought a baby black caiman up to the station and I was able to hold it! We could tell it was a black and not a pygmy caiman by its markings. This little guy was about three feet long and was missing a front foot. We figured it might have been eaten by a piranha when the caiman was younger. Ruben thinks black caimans can reach 5 meters long in adulthood! There are many different types of caimans and the black ones seem to me the toughest to see.

In the past couple of days at Lake El Dorado we have seen caiman eyes cruising around the lake after sunset. These round, orange spots would be slowly moving just above the water's surface, and every once in a while we would see part of the head and snout come just above the surface. We never got a chance to see the rest of the body. Caimans have unique eyes that collect a lot of light, giving them better night vision and helping them hunt. This caiman seemed pretty timid and would quickly return to the forest when it saw our headlamps. Even though he seemed relatively harmless, no one hung out on the water's edge alone at night, just in case this caiman was hungry!

Caimans are a relatively common animal in the crocodilian family. Caiman is a Spanish term for "alligator" or any other crocodilian. They swim very well using their tails and their webbed feet to propel themselves through the water.

Caimans are nocturnal, preferring to hunt at night. Young caimans eat a variety of aquatic invertebrates (insects, crustaceans, mollusks). As they grow, vertebrates make up a greater percentage of their diet. These include fish, amphibians, reptiles and water birds. Older animals are capable of taking larger, mammalian prey. It's been said that an adult caiman can hunt a wild pig or even a tapir.

Currently, the greatest threat to caimans is habitat loss. They live in freshwater habitats in South and Central America, including the Amazon Basin. They prefer still water but also live in lowland wetlands and rivers. When people move into the caiman's habitat, the caiman does not respond well. They need large ranges to hunt their prey.

The caiman is a protected species throughout much of the world. We feel lucky to have seen this rare and powerful animal.

See you at the next Animals of the Amazon update!

Jesse