The Amazon's biggest hunter
It is the largest predator in the Amazon, and can grow to five metres.
Amazon river
Black caiman
Melanosuchus niger
A big, dark, almost black relative of the alligator, with pale bands on its jaws.
- Size
- Up to 5m long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Slow rivers, lakes and flooded forest of the Amazon
Glides after you with only its eyes showing. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Black caiman
Good to know
Six things about the black caiman
Black for a reason
Its dark skin hides it at night and soaks up the sun's warmth by day.
Eyes that shine
At night its eyes glow red in torchlight, which is how people count them.
A watchful mother
The female guards her nest mound, and helps the hatchlings out when she hears them call.
Back from the brink
It was hunted almost to extinction for its skin, and has slowly recovered since hunting was banned.
New teeth for old
Like all its family, it grows new teeth all its life as old ones wear out.
The real thing
Photos of the black caiman
_(Captive_specimen)_(38731128190).jpg){kind=link}
_(Captive_specimen)_(40542177621).jpg){kind=link}
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Go out in a canoe after dark with a torch, and count the pairs of red eyes along the bank.
How to help
Black caimans recovered because hunting was controlled. Buying nothing made of wild reptile skin keeps the pressure off.
Keep going